Another Total Drama Island Story
by That1guyeveryonehates
Summary: Join me as I tell another story of how Total Drama could have gone! Watch your favorite twenty-two campers, along with two new ones (because who doesn't love OCs?) battle it out for 100,000! In this crazy game of romance, betrayal, friendship, and rivalry, who has what it takes to make it out on top? Find out (if I finish it) right here on Total Drama Island!
1. The Not So Great Outdoors pt 1

**Author's Note:** Hello Total Drama fans! It's been a while since I've been here, and I have no idea how long I'm staying this time, but I'm here right now! If, perchance, you're reading this and remember me from one of my other stories, I am so sorry that I'm starting a brand new one without finishing, like, any of the other ones! But hey, what's for anyway? I'd like to see the statistics of how many people actually finish anything they start! Not to worry though, I'm sure I'll get to it eventually!

If you're new to me, however, welcome! I hope you will enjoy whatever I actually am able to put out for this story. I just recently got back into Total Drama, and I found that this is giving me some much needed respite from my actual real-life writing, which was kind of bogging me down lately. Hopefully, I'm able to stick with this story though, I've already mapped out the first five seasons and I think I've got something pretty decent here!

I know it's incredibly original for someone to start their own version of Total Drama Island, but it is fun, truly I love it, so hopefully you won't be too mad at the lack of originality in story ideas. For the first couple of episodes (which I already have written!) I'll be sticking pretty closely to the script, with some minor changes to account for my OCs (Yes, I know, everyone's favorite!), as I feel like nothing much has differed from the show at this point. So hopefully that's ok, I promise once we get going though, things will be massively different than the show. Like, pretty drastic at times.

Anyway, I think that just about sums it up. I'll be talking more down after the end of this chapter, because I enjoy talking! Hope you enjoy!

Total Drama Island

Episode 1: The Not So Great Outdoors pt. 1

"Yo! We're coming at you live, from camp Wawanakwa, somewhere in in Muskoka Ontario! I'm your host, Chris MacLean! Dropping season one of the hottest new reality show on television, right now!"

The young, thirty-something man called Chris MacLean gave the camera a large, charismatic smile as he enthusiastically announced the reality show. The backdrop was that of a typical summer camp, complete with a scenic mountain in the background. Chris continued his speech to the camera as he walked down the pier.

"Here's the deal: twenty-four campers have signed up to spend eight weeks right here at this crummy old summer camp. They'll compete in challenges against each other, then have to face the judgment of their fellow campers. Every three days, one time will either win a reward or watch as one of their fellow teammates walk down the dock of shame, take ride on the loser boat, ha-ha, and leave Total Drama Island, for good!"

The camera cut to Chris popping up in front of a campfire pit with a podium and twelve stumps.

"Their fate will be determined here, at the dramatic campfire ceremony, where each week, all but one camper will receive a marshmallow."

Chris took a marshmallow and threw it into his mouth before continuing,

"In the end, only one will be left standing and will be rewarded with cheesy tabloid fame, and a small fortune; which lets face it, they'll probably blow in a week."

A montage sequence begins as Chris' voice can be heard over it,

"To survive, they'll have to battle: black flies, grizzly bears, disgusting camp food, and each other! Every moment will be caught by one of the over a hundred cameras situated around the camp."

The camera cuts back to Chris standing on the pier as he delivers the final leg of his monologue,

"Who will crumble under the pressure? Find out here, right now, on Total Drama Island!"

Music plays as the cameras cut to a pre-recorded title sequence. The cameras zoom across the camp in a fast overshot as it rushes past Chris and zooms up the mountain and jumps down into the waters below.

 _Tell mom and dad I'm doin' fine,_

 _You guys are on my mind._

 _You asked me what I wanted to be,_

 _And now I think the answer is plain to see:_

 _I wanna be famous!_

We see Owen swimming in the lake, farting giddily, and killing a fish in the process. The fish floats up to the surface, right next to Geoff and Bridgette on a surfboard, inching closer. They notice the fish and the smell and are disgusted, but an eagle soon swoops in to pick it up out of the water. The camera follows the eagle as it flies over the forest and drops the fish. The fish lands near DJ, who is sitting on a tree stump surrounded by animals. Upon landing, the fish provokes the animals to attack DJ, causing him to run away in pain. The camera pans to Duncan who is watching the scene unfold with hysteric laughter. The camera pans to Ella, who was sketching the scene, turning her head to look distastefully at Duncan.

 _I wanna live close to the sun,_

 _Well pack your bags cuz I've already won,_

 _Anything to prove nothin' in my way,_

 _I'll get there one day,_

 _Cuz I wanna be famous!_

The camera pans up to the sun, where we see Leshawna and Heather cat fighting in a raft that falls off a waterfall. The camera watches as they fall, passing Harold performing martial arts on a broken log. Izzy comes swinging on a vine, knocking Harold off his log and slamming him into the confessional booth, which knocks Lindsay out of it and onto the ground. The camera pans over to the mess hall and zooms in through the window, showing Chef Hatchet stirring a pot with his bare hands. He grins evilly at Ezekiel and Noah, who are tied up and look at each other terrified. The camera pans over to Tyler, who is struggling in an arm-wrestling match against Eva, who beats him with ease and smiles triumphantly. The camera zooms out of the mess hall and pans over to Katie and Sadie sitting on the steps to the beach, watching Justin admire himself with an infatuated gaze.

 _Nah nanananah nananananah nanananananah!_

 _I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!_

The camera zooms by to the amphitheater where Liam is performing a moving oration, a single tear sliding down his face. Only Courtney is in the audience, and she stands up to clap for him as he takes a bow. The camera then pans quickly back to the pier, where Beth is twirling her baton, which is on fire.

 _I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!_

The camera follows the baton as it sails into the air and by the sun. The camera smoothly cuts to nighttime as the baton goes down and is replaced by the campfire, which is now lit up. Gwen and Trent are at the forefront, and seem to be leaning in for a kiss, when they are interrupted by Cody. The camera zooms out to overlook all the campers sitting around the fire, whistling the hook of the theme song. The camera takes one look at the whole campfire, with a wooden sign shining a neon light "Total Drama Island", before cutting back to the show.

"Welcome back to Total Drama Island!" The camera zooms up to Chris, standing by himself on the docks. "Alright, it's time to meet our first twelve campers!" He adds with a mischevious smirk on his face, "We told them they would all be staying at this five-star resort, so if they seem a little that's probably why!"

The camera pans over to the first boat, dropping off an excited looking stout girl with braces and a brown ponytail. She excitedly races over to Chris,

"Beth, what's up?"

She hugs Chris,

"It's so incredulous to meet you!" She takes a step back before adding, "Wow, you're much sthorter in real life."

Chris rubs the wrinkles out of his shirt as he replies dryly to Beth, who is waving at the camera,

"Uh, thanks."

The camera pans back over to the next boat as it drops off a tough, yet gentle-looking boy with mocha skin and a green t-shirt with the letter "D" on it.

"DJ!" Chris says enthusiastically, DJ walks over to him, high-fiving the host,

"Yo, Chris MacLean! How's it goin'?" He looks around confused, "Hey, you sure you got the right place here? Where's the hot tub at?"

Chris nods with a cheeky grin,

"Yo dawg, this is it: Camp Wawanakwa!"

DJ picks up his stuff, still confused, and walks to move it next to Beth's while muttering to himself,

"Hm. Looked a lot different on the application form."

Chris continues,

"Hey Gwen!"

The camera cuts to a miserable-looking gothic girl, who has just gotten off of her boat. She walks over to Chris in disbelief,

"You mean; we're staying here?"

Chris shakes his head,

"No, _you're_ staying here. My crib is an airstream with A.C, that-a-way!"

As he points over his shoulder, Gwen walks up to him, fuming,

"I did _not_ sign up for this!"

Chris produces a stack of papers from his pocket and waves it triumphantly in the air,

"Actually, you did!"

Unfazed, Gwen takes the stack and rips it up, tossing it aside with a winning grin. This time, Chris is unfazed, and returns a knowing smirk,

"The great thing about lawyers is, they make a ton of copies!"

He produces another stack, as a defeated Gwen storms over to Beth and DJ declaring, "Jerk!"

The camera pans over to another boat arriving, blasting music loudly as a guy with a pink button-up and a cowboy hat is seen pumping his fists in the air. The boat docks and he does a flip onto the pier, giving a thumbs-up to the driver as he throws his luggage out next to him.

"Chris MacLean!" He says with great vigor as he strolls over to give the host a fist-bump, "'Sup man? It's an honor to meet you man!"

Chris points to the new arriver,

"The Geoff-ster! Welcome to the island, man!"

Geoff raises his fist in the air,

"Thanks man."

The camera cuts to Gwen talking to DJ,

"They say "man" one more time, I'm gonna puke."

Geoff high-fives Chris as he walks to stand by the other campers. Chris remains to introduce the next contestant,

"Everybody, this is Lindsay!"

Some swanky music starts to play as the camera cuts to some brown cowgirl boots. The camera pans up, revealing the curvaceous figure of Lindsay, as she stands with a vacant expression.

Chris addresses the camera as Lindsay walks over to him,

"Not too shabby!"

"Hi!" Her voice is bubbly as she stops next to Chris, "Okay, you look so familiar!"

"I'm Chris MacLean?" Lindsay frowns, confused, and Chris continues after an awkward pause, "The host? Of the show?"

Finally, Lindsay smiles as she remembers,

"Oh that's where I know you from!"

Chris looks stunned as another boat arrives, leaving a thin, raven-haired girl in wedges and booty shorts looking menacingly at the other contestants. She takes off her sunglasses and looks around, disgusted. She storms past Chris, who announces her arrival,

"Heather!"

Beth rushes up excitedly to Heather,

"Hi! Lookth like we're your new friendsh! For the nextht eight weekth!"

Suddenly, the air is filled with the sound of punk-rock music. The contestants and the camera pans over to a tough-looking guy with a green Mohawk and multiple piercings, with one leg on an amp. His boat docks and throws a duffle bag over onto the pier, before jumping down next to it. He looks over angrily at Chris as his boat leaves.

"Duncan, dude!"

"I don't like… surprises." He punches his palm threateningly.

"Yeah, your parole officer warned me about that, man. He also told me to give him a holler anytime and have you returned to juvie!"

Duncan sniffed and smirked taking his bag and moving next to Lindsay,

"Ok then." As he passes Heather, he smiles and calls out, "Meet you by the campfire, gorgeous!"

Heather rolls her eyes,

"Drop dead you punk." Duncan sets his stuff by a worried Lindsay, as Heather storms over to her suitcase, "I'm calling my parents, you cannot make me stay here!"

Chris produces a copy of the contract and grins. Another boat speeds by, tooting its horn.

"Ladies and gentlemen: it's Tyler!"

The camera pans to an athletic looking guy in a red tracksuit waterskiing behind the boat. He waves enthusiastically over at the other contestants, but when the boat comes to a sudden stop, he is propelled into the air and lands in the pile of suitcases. One of the suitcases flies up and drops into the water, soaking Heather,

"Ugh! My shoes!"

The camera cuts to Chris,

"Wicked wipeout man!"

The camera cuts back to the pile of suitcases, and Tyler's thumb emerges from it. DJ and Geoff return the thumbs up, and the camera pans back to Chris, while Heather storms back over to the group and Duncan is hitting on Lindsay. Chris chuckles at the scene but is cut off by the sound of heavy breathing. Freaked out, he turns to see a lanky redhead, and grins,

"Welcome to camp, Harold!"

Harold looks around awkwardly, making Chris frown in discomfort. Finally, the nerdy boy responds,

"So you mean this show is actually at some crappy summer camp and not on some big stage or something?"

Chris responds,

"You got it!"

Harold grins,

"Yes! That is so much more favorable to my skills."

He walks over Geoff and Gwen, as Chris gives the camera a look of great discomfort. Chris then announces the next arrival,

"Contestant number nine is Trent!"

A cool-looking guy in jeans and a long-sleeve shirt walks up to Chris with a lazy grin. He stops by the host, guitar in hand,

"Hey, good to meetcha, man. Saw you on that figure-skating show, nice work!"

Chris offers him a fist-bump, which Trent returns,

"Hey thanks man, I knew I rocked that show!"

The camera pans over to Beth talking to the other campers,

"I saw that! One of the guys dropped his partner on her head! Though they got immunity that week."

Much to everyone else's apathy, Harold responded,

"Lucky! I hope I get dropped on my head."

Lindsay responds with an enthusiastic,

"Me too!"

The camera cuts back to Trent, still over by Chris. The guitarist looks around, confused,

"So this is it?" The camera cuts to the other campers, and pans by them. Heather stands off to the side, wrenching the water out of her hair. Beth stands next to Gwen and DJ, her braces glistening in the sun. Harold stands in the middle and begins picking his nose. Trent continues with disappointment on his face, "Alrighty then." He walks over to Gwen, and they both look over at Harold in disgust. Trent wedges himself between her and Harold, smiling at the Goth girl. She looks away, angrily, but when he turns away, she looks back and smiles.

The next boat arrives with a relaxed blonde girl in a blue hoodie. She walks up to Chris and leans on her surfboard,

"Hey, what's up?"

"Alright! Our surfer chick, Bridgette, is here!"

The camera cuts to Duncan, who scoffs,

"Nice board. This ain't Malibu, honey."

Bridgette frowned and responded a bit defensively,

"I thought we were gonna be on a beach."

Chris exclaims, "We are!" as the camera cuts to a scene of a littered beach and small wave calmly picking up a bird with a plastic ring around it's neck. Bridgette sighs,

"Great."

She picks up her board as Chris continues talking, "Alright, that makes- ow! Darn it! That hurts!" Chris is cut off as Bridgette's surfboard hits him on the head. She walks over to the other campers, ignoring the host's remarks,

"Hey guys." She says lazily as she walks up to Duncan, Geoff, Harold, and Trent. Geoff sees her and coolly moves closer to her,

"Hey, I'm Geoff!"

Bridgette turns to him, her board almost hitting the other three boys,

"What's up?"

After quickly dodging the board, Harold stands up and points a finger at Bridgette,

"Dang! Watch the board, man!"

Beth walks up next to Trent and waves emphatically at the surfer girl,

"Hi! I'm Beth!"

Bridgette turns around to acknowledge Beth, once again the musician, nerd, and punk duck to avoid getting hit by her board,

"Hey."

The camera cuts over to Heather, still drying off next to Tyler,

"Ok, we've all met surfer girl. Can we get on with the show please?"

The camera cuts to Duncan, who smiles teasingly at the mean girl,

"Someone missed their double cappuccino macchiato this morning!"

Heather stares angrily back at him as the next boat arrives, "Get bent."

The camera cuts to the shot of the next boat dropping off a smaller, scrawny tan guy in a neat sweater vest. He walks up to Chris with an unimpressed look on his face, as the host rubs his head and introduces him,

"Our next camper is Noah!"

Not missing a beat, Noah dryly asks,

"You got my memo about my life-threatening allergies?"

Chris shrugs as Noah walks by him, not waiting for a response,

"I'm sure someone did!"

Noah rolls his eyes and continues until he stops in front of Duncan,

"Good. Is this where we're staying?"

Duncan smirks and cracks his knuckles,

"No, it's your mothers house, and we're throwin' a party!"

Unfazed, Noah snarks back,

"Cute. Nice piercings, original, do them yourself?"

Duncan grabs Noah by the lip and pulls him closer, a threatening smile plastered on his face,

"Yeah, you want one?"

Noah scoffs,

"Ugh, no thanks. Can I have my lip back please?" Duncan releases his lip and Noah responds dryly, "Thanks."

The camera pans over to the boat, dropping off another contestant. She stands on the dock, timidly clutching a sketch pad close to her bosom. She nervously walks up to Chris, who announces her in a booming voice that startles her,

"Welcome, to our twelfth competitor, Ella!"

Ella shuffles her feet around,

"Uhm, thank you?"

Chris nods and waits for Ella to move over to the other campers. She doesn't, and he begins to grow weary, finally shoving her off with a scowl. She stumbles into Duncan, who looks down at her and raises an eyebrow,

"Hey, watch it princess."

Ella looks up at him and shuffles back nervously, accidentally stepping on Noah's foot. His eyes go wide in pain, then he looks back angrily at her,

"Ow! Do you always get into people's space?"

Ella shakes her head and responds weakly,

"Um, no- I just-" Noah rolls his eyes,

"Whatever. Could you kindly just remove your foot from crushing my toes now?" Ella does so, "Thanks."

"What's up y'all? Leshawna's in the house!"

The camera pans over to a curvy black girl, who waves over at the thirteen people before stepping on the dock to join them. The camera cuts to Harold gasping with a shocked expression on his face, then cuts back to Leshawna walking past Chris, high-fiving him,

"Hey baby, how's it going? Feel free to quit now and save yourself the trouble, cuz I came to win!" She strolls up to DJ, "Oh what's up my brother? Gimme some sugar, baby!" they high-five, and Harold pops up behind her,

"I've never seen a girl like you in real life before."

Leshawna puts her hand on her hip and smirks over at Harold,

"Excuse me?"

The nerdy boy then motions with his hands,

"You're real big, and loud!"

Annoyed, Leshawna started going off on him,

"What did you say to me? Oh no you didn't! You have not seen anything yet! I'll show you big, baby!"

She prepares to launch herself onto the lanky nerd, but is held back by DJ and Bridgette. Harold begins to take up several martial arts positions, prompting Leshawna to call out,

"Oh yeah, you want some of this? Well come on then!"

Chris interjects as the camera cuts back to him,

"Alright, campers, settle down!"

The camera cuts back to Leshawna, who is fixing her shirt and Harold, who smiles weakly at her. The camera then cuts over to a pair of girls: a tan skinny one and a pale plump one, both wearing identical outfits. Chris walks up to them,

"Ladies: Sadie, Katie! Welcome to your new home for eight weeks!"

He extends his arm towards the fly-infested buildings, and the camera zooms in to get the girls' reactions. The taller one puts her hands to her face,

"Oh my gosh, Sadie look! It's a summer camp!"

The shorter one responded,

"Okay! I always wanted to go to summer camp, eeeeee!"

They clap their hands, grab their bags and rush over to the other campers, leaving Chris to frown confused to himself. The next boat arrives and drops off a pale boy in a green hoodie and blue hat.

"Ezekiel! What's up man?"

Ezekiel looks up and points to the sky, waiting long enough for an awkward pause before responding,

"I think I see a bird!"

The camera cuts over to Gwen, Trent, and Geoff. Trent laughs as Gwen and Geoff look on amazed. The camera returns to Chris, as he puts a hand on Ezekiel's shoulder,

"Ok, look dude, I know you don't get out much. Been homeschooled your entire life, raised by freaky prairie people, just don't say much and try not to get kicked off too early, ok?"

He prods Ezekiel gently towards the other campers as he responds,

"Yessir!"

The camera cuts back to Gwen, Trent, and Geoff, as Gwen responds incredulously,

"That's just… wow."

The boat then drops off another camper. A short, scrawny boy with a geeky part in his hair. Chris greets him,

"Cody! The Codester! The Codemeister!"

Putting on a cool guy act, Cody high-fives Chris and struts over to Leshawna, Lindsay, and Bridgette,

"Dude, psyched to be here, man! I see the ladies have already arrived! Alright!"

He motions to the girls, then walks up behind Leshawna. The two share a look, before Cody tries to flirt with her. He is stopped by Leshawna's finger,

"Save it short stuff." He smiles and steps back.

The camera cuts back to a tough girl in a blue tracksuit. She storms over past Chris without saying a word as he announces her,

"Eva? Nice. Glad you could make it!"

She walks past Cody, who tries to high-five her. She ignores him and drops her duffel bag on his foot. He reacts by clutching his foot in pain as the bag lands with a loud thud.

"Ow! What's in there? Dumbbells?" he asks half-jokingly. Eva looks at him and and replies coolly,

"Yes."

The camera cuts to Duncan, who looks to DJ and says,

"She's all yours, man."

The camera cuts over to Chris, who is startled by a loud holler,

"WOO-HOO! Chris, what's happenin'?" A large blond boy in a white t-shirt sporting a maple leaf steps off the boat and grabs his hair in excitement, "This is awesome! WOO-HOO!"

Chris returns the enthusiasm, "Owen! Welcome!"

Owen picks Chris up in a large, crushing hug, "Awesome to be here man! Yeah! Man! This is just so…"

The camera cuts to Gwen, who asks,

"Awesome?"

Cutting back to Owen, the large boy concurs vigorously, "Yes! Awesome! WOO-HOO!" He looks over at Gwen and asks, "Are you gonna be on my team?"

The camera cuts to her as she rolls her eyes, "Oh I sure hope so."

Owen responds with a loud and joyful whoop, "WOOOOOOOO!" He sets a now annoyed Chris down who asks,

"You about finished?"

Owen grabs his head with a large grin, "Sorry dude. I'm just so psyched!"

Chris smiles as another boat approaches, "Cool. And here comes, Courtney!"

A mocha-skinned brunette in a neat sweater waves politely at the people on the dock. Chris extends her a hand and helps her off of her boat. She responds with a curt "Thank you" and walks over to the other campers,

"Hi, you must be the other contestants! It's really nice to meet you all!"

Owen rushes up to her, large grin still intact, "How's it goin'? I'm Owen!"

Courtney returns his handshake and responds politely, "Nice to meet you O-wow!"

She stops and turns to watch as a tall, chiseled tanned man approaches on a boat. He gives the campers all a picture perfect smile, and a bright, dazzling song hook is played. The camera pans over to get the reactions of the campers. Owen stands staring at him with infatuation. Eva and Katie look dreamily at him while Sadie swoons.

He steps off of his boat and approaches Chris, "Everyone, this is Justin! Welcome to Total Drama Island!" They fist-bump and Justin responds,

"Thanks Chris, this is great."

Chris continues, "Just so you know, we picked based entirely on your looks!"

Justin smiles and shrugs, "I can deal with that."

He walks over to the other campers, and is greeted by an awestruck Owen, who points down to his legs,

"I like your pants!"

"Thanks man."

Owen continues as Justin walks past him, "Cuz, they look like they're all worn out. Did you buy them like that?"

Justin responded smoothly, trying not to lose his composure, "Uh, no, just had em for a while."

Owen gives a thumbs up, "Cool!" He turns around and hits his head chastising, "Stupid!"

The camera pans over to a redhead girl standing on her boat, waving cheerfully as Chris announces her,

"Hey everyone: Izzy!"

"Hi Chris! Hi!" She runs up to the edge of the boat, still waving as the boat stops abruptly, causing her to trip and fall off the edge. She hits her chin against the boardwalk and bounces into the water. The camera cuts to Tyler wincing and grinning,

"Oooo, that was bad!"

Courtney rushes over to where Izzy fell and pulls her out of the water,

"Guys! She could be seriously hurt!"

She brings Izzy back onto the pier. Izzy shakes around like dog, drying off and spraying Courtney with water. Izzy muttered, "That felt… so… good! Except for hitting my chin!" She continued to bark as Courtney watched confused, "This is summer camp? This is so cool! Do you have paper Mache here? Are we having lunch soon?"

The camera pans over to Owen, who points and declares,

"That is a good call!"

Chris strolled over to Izzy and answered,

"Yes, but first, we have one more contestant! Ladies and gentleman, in his debut television appearance, please welcome, the illustrious, the talented, the amazing: Liam!"

A boy with curly black hair and a sharp, unbuttoned blue suit stepped off the boat and next to Izzy. Without removing his sunglasses, he smiled and walked over to where Chris stood,

"'A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner.' That's the appropriately named Francis Bacon; it's a pleasure to be here, Mr. MacLean!" He turns and looks over slyly at Courtney, "And yes, I am a bachelor." He winks, and Courtney rolls her eyes. The camera cut to Leshawna and Bridgette smiling, the former commenting,

"Mmh-mmh. That boy is smoother than my lotion!"

Courtney, Izzy, and Liam all walk over to the rest of the campers as Chris announces, "Alright, now everyone gather round; we need a group photo for the promos! Everyone to the end of the dock!"

They all get into a pose as Chris hops onto the deck of Liam's boat, camera in hand.

"One… two… three! Oops, forgot the lens cap!" Chris removes it and continues, "Ok, hold that pose… one… two- oh no wait! Card's full! Hang on!"

The camera pans to Leshawna, who is standing in between Eva and Lindsay, as she gets agitated, "Come on man, my face is starting to freeze!"

Cameras cut back to Chris as he triumphantly declares, "Got it! Ok! Everyone say: Wawanakwa!"

Right as the campers do so, the pier begins to creak and collapses under their weight. They let loose a cry for help as Chris takes several photos. The pictures flash before the scree, showing the campers submerged in the water.

Unfazed, Chris announces, "Ok guys, dry off and meet at the campfire pit in ten!"

The camera cuts to ten minutes later at the campfire pit, where all the campers have gathered. Chris stands at the podium and speaks to the campers, half sitting and half standing,

"This is camp Wawnakwa, your home for the next eight weeks! The campers sitting around you will be your cabin mates, your competition, and maybe even your friends. Ya dig?"

As Chris monologues, the camera cuts to several shots of camper interactions, notably a disinterested Noah standing by an attentive Courtney and relaxed Geoff, a smirking Liam winking over at a disgusted Heather, and Duncan threatening Harold with his fist.

"The camper who manages to stay on Total Drama Island the longest, without getting voted off, will win one-hundred-thousand dollars!"

The camera cuts to Duncan walking by Heather and pointing coyly at her,

"'Scuse me, what will the sleeping arrangements be? Because I'd like to request a bunk under her!"

Heather looks startled and asks,

"They're not co-ed, are they?"

Chris shakes his head, "No. Girls get one side of the cabin, and dudes get the other."

Lindsay, sitting next to Eva and Izzy, raises her hand and aridly asks, "Excuse me, Kyle? Can I have a cabin with a lake view since I'm the prettiest?"

Chris responds, "Ok, you are. But that's not really how it works here, and its Chris."

Katie chimes up, while sitting on a stump next to her best friend, "I have to live with Sadie, or I'll die!" She grabs her hand and Sadie responds, "And I'll break out in hives; its true!"

The camera pans to Gwen, slumped over on a stump, "This cannot be happening." She is then head locked by Owen, who also grabs Tyler, and pulls them both in for a tight hug,

"Aw, come on guys, this is gonna be fun! It's like a big sleepover!"

Tyler mutters to Gwen, "At least you don't have to sleep next to him."

The two look over to Duncan, who's giving a noogie to a deer. The two look back at each other nervously.

The camera cuts back to Chris, who proceeds to explain the deal, "Here's the deal, we're gonna split you into two teams." He picks up a piece of paper, "If I call your name out, please stand over there." He points to the (left/right) side of the campfire pit and proceeds to read off of the list as the camera cuts to each of the people whose names are called, "Gwen… Trent… Heather… Cody… Lindsay… Beth… Katie… Liam… Owen… Leshawna… Justin… and, Noah!"

The twelve campers all move closer to each other as Chris tosses Owen a green banner, "From this moment on, you are officially known as: The Screaming Gophers!"

Owen unfurls the banner to reveal a symbol of a gopher in a boxing stance and mouth open wide. Owen chuckles, "Yeah, alright! I'm a gopher! WOO!"

The camera cuts to Katie, who stands off to the side of the gopher camp next to Noah and Leshawna, "Wait," she asks worriedly, "What about Sadie?"

Chris continues, "The rest of you, over here: Geoff… Bridgette… DJ… Tyler… Sadie… Ella… Izzy… Courtney… Ezekiel… Duncan… Eva… and Harold! Move, move, move, move!"

Several of the last twelve begin to rush over to the other side of the campfire, only Sadie stays behind near Katie, and Courtney by her. Sadie cries out despondently, "But Katie's a Gopher! I have to be a Gopher!"

Courtney places her hand on Sadie's shoulder, "Sadie, is it? Come on, it'll be ok!" She guides Sadie over to the other side as she declares,

"This is so unfair! I miss you Katie!"

The camera cuts to a teary-eyed Katie, "I miss you too!"

The camera cuts over to the twelve campers on the other side, as Chris throws a red banner over to Harold, "You guys will officially be known as: The Killer Bass!"

Harold unwraps the banner to reveal the logo of a large bass snarling angrily. The camera pans up to Harold as he comments, "It's awesome. It's like… amazing."

The camera returns to Chris as he continues with the instructions, "Alright campers, you and your team will be on camera in all areas during this competition!"

 **Confessional Booth**

Chris: You will also be able to share your innermost thoughts on tape with video diaries anytime you want. Let the audience at home know what you're really thinking. **he adds a wink** Or, just get something off your chest!

Gwen: Uhm, ok… so far this sucks.

Lindsay: **facing backwards so that the camera is level with her butt** I don't get it, where's the camera guy?

Goose: **applying lipstick but then notices the camera and looks surprised**

Owen: Hey everyone, check this out, I have something very important to say. **he places his hand proudly on his chest and waits a tiny bit. Then he releases a juicy fart and giggles**

 **End Confessionals**

The camera returns to Chris at the campfire pit, "Alright, any questions? Cool. Let's find your cabins!"

The camera cuts to Chris walking the campers up to their shack-like cabins. "Gophers, you're in the east cabin; Bass, you're in the west!"

The camera cuts to Heather opening the door to her cabin. She looks around and scoffs, "Bunk beds? Isn't that a little… summer camp?"

Gwen walks in behind her, stepping on her feet, "That's the idea, genius."

Heather replies angrily as Lindsay and Cody enter, "Shut up, weird Goth girl."

Cody approaches Gwen as she sets her stuff down on her bed, "You're so smart, I feel that." He stands with a confident smirk as Gwen turns to him,

"Shouldn't you be on the boy's side?"

He gives her a coy grin.

The camera cuts to outside the cabin, as Leshawna is walking up to the door. She stops before Cody sails out of the door right past her and lands in the ground, by Trent and Chris. Lindsay exits her cabin alongside of Gwen, and asks, "Where are the outlets? I have to plug in my straightening iron."

Chris responds, "There are some in the communal bathrooms, just across the way!"

The camera cuts to a nasty old building as Lindsay replies puzzled, "Communal bathrooms? But I'm not Catholic?" Chris corrects her, "Not communion, communal."

The camera cuts back to Gwen and Lindsay, as the Gothic loner sits down on the steps to the cabin, "It means we shower together, idiot."

Whether responding to the definition of "communal" or the poorly veiled insult, Lindsay cries out, "Aw, no! C'mon!"

On the other side of the cabin, the Gopher boys: Trent, Noah, Liam, and Owen, stick their heads out of the door to look at the commotion. Owen speaks up first, "I'm glad we're in our cabin with just guys, you know what I'm sayin'?" Noah and Liam glare up at him before popping back into the room. Trent looks at him as if to tell the fat guy to stop. Owen realizes his awkward phrasing and tries to recover, "I mean, no, I didn't mean it like that! I love chicks! I just don't wanna sleep near 'em!" He realizes again what he said as Trent walks back in and he rushes inside to try and clear up his meaning, "I mean-!"

The camera cuts back to Chris, as Geoff pipes up from the Bass cabin, "Excuse me, Chris?" Chris looks over to the party animal as does the camera as he coyly watches Bridgette walk into her cabin, "Is there a chaperone of any kind at this facility?"

Camera cuts back to Chris who responds, "You're all sixteen years old, as old as a counselor-in-training at a regular summer camp. So, other than myself, you'll be unsupervised! You've got a half an hour to unpack and meet me at the main lodge; starting now!"

Cutting back to Geoff, he fists the air and replies, "Nice!"

Just as the camera cuts to Leshawna and Heather, a piercing scream startles them. The two of them, along with Tyler, Gwen, Duncan, Harold, and DJ crowd around the entrance to the Gopher girl's cabin, as Leshawna remarks, "Oo, man that white girl can scream."

The camera cuts over to a frightened Lindsay, who is standing on a stool, looking down at a cockroach. "What is it? Kill it! Kill it!"

The camera shows the cockroach, and then cuts to DJ, who lets loose a terrified, high-pitched scream and jumps onto the nearest bunk, snapping it in half. Gwen remarks to Leshawna, "That was my bed." Harold moves up from behind them and approaches the cockroach in a fighting stance. He and Leshawna attempt to stomp on it, as it scurries over to Duncan, who is somehow brandishing an ax. He raises it over his head, and brings it down on the bug, slicing it in half. Gwen smirks as Tyler hides behind her, "Well that's one way to kill a cockroach."

Harold looks down at the severed bug and mutters, "Awesome."

Tyler rushes over to Lindsay, who is standing behind DJ, and smiles at her, "If you ever see one of those again, just let me know, ok?" He sniffs proudly, "Cuz, y'know, I could do that too!"

The two share a moment and the camera cuts back to Duncan, who rolls his eyes and snorts, "They always go for the jocks."

The camera cuts to the main lodge where the campers all stand in a line to get their food. They listen as a large, intimidating black man in a chef's hat and apron yells at them in a drill sergeant manner,

"Listen up! I serve it three times a day, and you will eat it three times a day! Grab ya tray, getcha food, and sit ya butts down now!"

Beth and Harold stand at the front of the line. Beth looks at the slop in the chef's hands and unwisely asks, "Excuse me, will we be getting all the major food groups?" The chef ignores her and proceeds to place the slop on her and Harold's food. The nerd continues Beth's inquiry, "Yeah, cuz I get hypoglycemic real bad if I don't get enough sugar."

The camera closes in on the chef's twitching eye before he yells at Harold for annoying him, "You'll get a whole lotta, shut the Hell up!" Harold runs over to his table. The camera pans over to Owen and Noah as the fat guy mutters to the scrawny guy, "Have a cow!"

The chef overhears and startles the two, "What was that?" He beckons Owen to him, "Come closer, fat boy, I didn't hear you." Owen nervously gets his food and walks away, "Uhm, I didn't really say anything important."

The chef responds, "I'm sure you didn't." The camera cuts across to Noah, who stands alone and afraid. The chef beckons him forth, "You, scrawny kid, gimme your plate!" Voiceless, Noah allowed the chef to serve him an extra helping of the brown goop. Before he could leave, however, the goop animated itself and jumped back onto the ladle. The chef simply shoved it off harder, and Noah walked away disgusted.

Leshawna approaches Eva as the camera pans to the fitness buff getting her plate, "Hey what's up girl?" Eva looks at her, gets her food, and walks away, ignoring the loudmouth and angering her, causing her to call out, "Oh, its gonna be like that, is it?" The chef the yells out, "Next!" which startles Leshawna.

The camera cuts to Lindsay and Gwen getting their food. Lindsay, unaware of the previous interactions with the chef sergeant, bubbly asked, "Excuse me, my nutritionist said that I shouldn't eat any white sugar, white flour, or, like, dairy." The camera cuts to the disinterested chef as he crushes a nearby fly in his hands. Gwen looks up to Lindsay stating dryly, "I don't think that's gonna be a problem." She then looks down at her food in time to see it twitch, needless to say, she looks disgusted.

Lindsay saunters off with a cheery, "Cool." Gwen stays behind and addresses the tasteless chef, "Ok, I hate to be predictable and complain on the first day, but I think mine just moved." At the end of his patience, the chef merely looked the Goth girl dead in the eye and slammed a mallet on top her her sludge. The sludge splattered all over the two of them, and Gwen smiled weakly, "Right, ok then!"

The camera cuts to a zoomed out shot of the campers eating their "food". The Killer Bass sit on the table closest to the kitchen while the Screaming Gophers sit closer to the door. The camera pans over to Chris as he enters, "Welcome to the main lodge!"

The camera cuts back to Geoff, who asks, a little too loudly, "Yo, my man, can we order a pizza?" He is answered with a large butcher knife flying past his head and sticking itself into the door post. Geoff quickly backtracks, "Whoa, it's cool, G! Brown slop is cool! Right guys?" All the campers nod nervously in agreement as the chef brandishes a long knife and crosses his arms.

The camera cuts back to Chris, "Your first challenge begins, in one hour!" He raises one finer and proceeds to step outside the door, laughing to himself. The camera cuts to Sadie, sitting next to DJ, who asks nervously, "What do you think they'll make us do?" DJ crosses his arms and smiles comfortably, "It's our first challenge, how hard can it be?"

Bass Table

After DJ had said that, Harold spoke up, index finger raised, "You know, you shouldn't say things like that, otherwise karma will make it the opposite." DJ looked over nervously at Harold,

"Fo' real?"

Courtney rolled her eyes, "Oh please, that's just a superstition. Don't worry, guys, DJ's rights, they can't make the first challenge too difficult."

Bridgette frowned, "I dunno, Courtney. I wouldn't mess with karma. That stuff is pretty legit."

Courtney scoffed, "You don't seriously believe that stuff, do you?"

Bridgette shrugged, "Maybe. My mom's a Buddhist, so I've always grown up around that kind of stuff."

Ezekiel looked over at Bridgette and Courtney, confused, "Wut's a karma, eh?"

Bridgette looked over at the home schooled boy, "It's the force that balances action. So, like, if you did something good, the universe rewards you for it. Or if you say something won't happen, it will."

Ezekiel scratched his head, still confused, "Wut does it look like?"

Bridgette shook her head, "It's just a force of nature, you can't really see it."

Courtney rolled her eyes, "You can't see it, because there is no such thing! Just relax, guys. Everything's gonna be fine!"

Geoff spoke up next, keeping a calm and good natured attitude, "I agree with Courtney on this, dudes. Let's just all chill out and have fun!" He looked over at Bridgette and tipped his hat, adding in a wink for good measure. Bridgette smiled back at him. Duncan got up from the table, arms crossed,

"Whatever, man. I'm gonna go finish unpacking." He proceeded to walk away when Izzy stopped him, pointing at his tray,

"Hey, you gonna finish that?"

Duncan looked back at the tray, then smirked, "Nah, I've eaten trash that tasted better than that." He walked out of the lodge and Izzy began eating away at his tray. The Bass watched the criminal depart, then Tyler broke the silence,

"Hey, I'm gonna go too." He got up, dumped his plate by Izzy, then added, "I brought a football, if anyone wants to go play?"

Geoff stood up enthusiastically, "Uh, yeah! It's so on dude!" DJ stood up as well, both leaving their trays on the table. Tyler frowned, "Wait, we need one more player." He looked over the Bass table, eyes falling on a certain prairie boy, and grinned.

"Yo, Zeke, my man, wanna play some ball?"

Ezekiel looked up with a puzzled expression, "How do you play, eh?"

Tyler, DJ, and Geoff looked dumbfounded. The jock then grabbed Ezekiel by the collar and pulled him up, "We gotta teach you, bro, this is unacceptable!"

The four Bass boys left the lodge abruptly, leaving only seven people left at the Bass table, all female. Well, mostly.

"So does anyone wanna see my red ant farm?"

Bridgette looked worriedly over at the alpha nerd, "You brought a red ant farm with you?"

Harold nodded, "Yep, sure did! Wanna see it?"

Bridgette shook her head, "Uh, no thanks, I'll pass."

Harold shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Gopher Table

"Hey, do ya think Tyler'll let me play with his ball too?"

"You might wanna rephrase that, Owen."

Owen stopped midway through a spoonful of Noah's food, before looking down at the bookworm and trying quickly to backtrack, "Oh, uh, I mean, I just wanna play some sports, ya know?"

Noah shook his head and replied dully, "Not really. Sports aren't my forte."

Heather scoffed, "So what're you gonna do then, read Chris a bedtime story and take the money from him?"

The bookworm shrugged, "Not a bad idea."

Liam interjected, "What're ya reading?"

Noah replied answered without looking up from his book, "The Hunchback." Liam nodded in admiration,

"A fine novel, you know they recently put out a musical form of it? It's no Les Miserables, but that's to be expected from Disney, I suppose." Noah shrugged, and Liam turned to Lindsay, "It's really quite the delightful tune: _Morning in Paris the city awakes to the bells of Notre Dame!_ "

Lindsay gasped, "Did you say Paris? Oh my God, I've always wanted to go to Paris!" Katie replied from the other side of the table,

"Really? So have Sadie and I! Isn't that right, Sadie?" Katie called over to her friend on the other side of the room who replied in kind, "That's so true, Katie! Ugh, I wish we were there now, at least we'd be together!"

"I know, right? I miss you, so much!"

"I miss you more!"

Unsatisfied with no longer being the center of attention, Liam turned to find Gwen sitting quietly to his right. "Have you seen the Hunchback?"

Gwen cocked an eyebrow, "Why, cuz I'm Goth?"

The actor rolled his eyes, "No, because it's a good film? Any response is acceptable, even the animated one is among Disney's finest work."

Gwen looked back down at her food, "No, I haven't seen any of them." Liam gasped with shock,

"Shut up! But you must watch them with me, it's such a compelling tale of a hideously disfigured bell ringer enslaved to hypocritical archdeacon who both lust after a gypsy rabble rouser! Not to mention, a handsome yet arrogant captain of the guard, a wisecracking lawless beggar, and a heroic playwright all get their hands thrown in the mix!"

Gwen gave another puzzled look at Liam, who was now too engrossed in his description of the story that he probably had forgotten that she was even there. She stood up, tray in hand, as the actor prattled on about the plot.

"I'm going to the cabin. Please, no one follow me."

As the Goth girl exited, Cody stood up and declared triumphantly, "I'm gonna follow her!"

Noah snarked, "Yes, because that's going to go exceedingly well."

Trent watched Cody leave, then turned to Noah with a worried expression, "Hey, do you think he's gonna bug her?"

The bookworm rolled his eyes, "I dunno, does blatantly going against the wishes of someone still bug people?" Trent started getting up, "I'm gonna go check on her." Liam stopped him,

"Hang on there, Romeo. The bookworm is right; you're not doing yourself any favors by disregarding Gwen. Just sit back, and let the geek fail on his own!"

Trent looked at Liam, and relaxed, "You're right, thanks man."

Liam flashed a smile, "Of course, I'm always right!"

Suddenly, a loud siren wailed and Chris' voice was heard through what sounded like a loudspeaker,

"Attention campers, meet me at the top of mount Wawanakwa by challenge time! Oh, and bring your bathing suits, you're gonna want them!" The loudspeaker went out and the room fell silent. It was Beth who broke it,

"I don't like the thound of that."

 **AN:** Ok, hopefully I made up for the copy-paste mindset a little with the little "team bonding" at the end. I'm trying to develop more characters and relationships a bit better earlier on so that I can utilize it for later. Like I said, it'll get shaken up later. If you'd like to see more of that interaction, I can try and post chapters inbetween episodes. So, since every challenge is supposed to be a couple days apart from each other, I could do a chapter with the charaters interacting during those days off. They wouldn't be as long or developed, and I would avoid putting major plot points in them, but I think they'd be a fun little thing to read while waiting for the next challenge! Let me know what you think!

Suuuuuuper sorry for the sudden tense change! Yeah, I started writing it in the past, then shifted to present, then shifted back to past, ugh, I suck! I promise, from here on out I'm sticking with past-tense. For whatever reason, present-tense seems a bit odd. I thought it would make better sense since it would be like watching the show live (but it's a gameshow, it's pre-recorded) but I think I'll stick with my comfort zone.

Also, if you hate my OCs, I sincerally apologize. Fair warning though, they will be prominantly featured in this story and (assuming I can even make it to episode three of season one) will continue to be featured quite prominently throughout the series. That being said, let me know what your thoughts are on Liam and Ella, I think it's kinda odd that Total Drama hasn't yet had a drama kid or artist stereotype yet, so I thought they'd make sense and fit in nicely with the high school theme. If you would like more information on them, I'd be happy to give it to you!

Chapter two will come out when I finish with chapter three. I know it seems odd, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself in terms of updating. Next chapter will be similar, again, to the episode it mirrors. I won't tell you how, that would be spoiling it! Keyword: similar.

Thanks for reading this, I, as everyone on this site, would very much appreciate it if you left a review of what you thought! Hope to see you back for chapter two!

-That1guyeveryonehates.


	2. The Not So Great Outdoors pt 2

**A.N:** Hey campers, how's it hanging? Yes, I know, this is quite the fast update, don;t get used to it! I already had this part written out, but I split it into two parts for obvious reasons. Now that chapter two is up, that means that I have finished writting chapter three! Which means that won't go up until I'm in a comfortable point with chapter four.

Thank you for the read, especially for the reviewer! Shoutout to Fire Slash for being the first person to review, means a lot, thank you! Hopefully by posting this chapter and thus completing the challenge, I can snag a couple more! In the meantime, I'll just respond to the one! I'm glad that you like Liam, and I understand why you are unsure of Ella. Since she is a bit more shy and he is a bit more outgoing, I thought it would make sense to see one being more comfortable in the introduction and one not so much. Never fear, they will both be receiving ample screen time, although you might have to wait another chapter for Ella, give her some time to get used to the island! As for the ships, yes and no. I'm going to be sticking to a realistic as possible version here, using cannon as a guide. Therefore, you will be seeing some cannon couples, as well as some non-cannon couples. When you will see them and for how long will be the ultimate question, after the first few chapters it gets pretty different!

Anyway, this chapter is gonna be a bit on the short end, so I apologize. Not to worry though, the next one is twice as long! Another apology if this one seems a tad similar to the episode, the first couple are gonna be that way until we get into the unique groove of things. As I mentioned, I'm trying to make this seem as believable as possible, so bear with me please! That being said, there will be some differences in this chapter, I think you'll be able to notice them!

On with the show!

* * *

Episode 2: The Not So Great Outdoors pt. 2

The campers all stood at the top of the mountain, huddled together in their bathing suits. The Bass all stood on the left side of Chris, while the Gophers huddled over on his right side. The host wasted no time announcing the first challenge,

"Campers, today's challenge is three-fold! Your first task is to jump off of this one-thousand-foot-high cliff, into the lake!"

Bridgette muttered to Tyler, who stood next to her, "Piece of cake."

Chris continued, "If you look down, you will see two target areas. The wider area represents the part of the lake we've stocked with psychotic, man-eating sharks! Inside that area is the smaller, safe zone, which is your target area and, we're pretty sure is shark-free!"

The contestants all looked down nervously as several sharks jumped out of the water and chomped on their teeth. Leshawna looked incredulously back at Chris, "Excuse me?"

Chris, once again, ignored and continued, "For each member of your team that actually jumps, and survives, there will be a crate waiting below. Inside each crate will be supplies you will need for the second part of the challenge: building a hot-tub! The team with the best one gets to have a wicked hot-tub party tonight! The losers, will be sending someone home! Now, let's see… Killer Bass, you're up first!"

Bridgette stared down the cliff, instantly wishing she hadn't. "Wow, ok then… so, who's up first?"

She turned to see that nobody on her team was eager to make any moves to get the jump over with. Finally, with a great sigh, realizing she was the closest one to the edge, she looked back down,

"Guess, I'll go then." She took a deep breath, walked back, and sprinted into a dive. She did a flip in the air and extended her arms as though she were a professional diver. The camera panned back to Geoff, who gave an impressed grin. The camera then followed Bridgette as she landed in the safe zone with a decent splash.

Tyler watched this and smiled widely, "Oh yeah, she made it! I'm next!" He ran over to the edge, jumping with his legs tucked in and his arms wrapped around them, "Cannonball!"

The dumb jock landed a bit unfortunately, hitting up against the buoy and sliding painfully into the safe zone. The chef from earlier arrived with a boat to pick the two Bass up and take them to shore.

The rest of the Killer Bass looked at each other. Now that the floodgate was opened, they became more inclined to follow. Geoff was quick to jump, followed by Eva, Ezekiel, and Duncan, each one landing comfortably in the safe zone.

Harold looked over at Courtney, DJ, Ella, and Sadie, all of whom were looking nervously at the edge. The thought of impressing his teammates seemed to cross his mind as he approached the edge and said,

"Chris, it was my biggest honor to meet you. And if I don't survive, I would like you to have my ant farm."

The alpha nerd then turned around, sprinted and jumped, leaving a very freaked out Chris to watch,

"Wow, uh, ok, let's see how Harold fares!"

The camera zoomed in on Harold, his fists in the air and his legs parted, as he screamed "BOOYAH!"

His joy was short-lived, as he landed crotch first into the safe zone, Harold grabbed his lower area in pain as he let loose a tearful shriek before submerging into the water.

The camera cut back to Chris, "Ouch, darn shame!" He then turned to the final four Bass, "Alright, which one of you is up next? DJ?"

The brick house shook his head, "Uh-uh, no way man!"

Chris cocked his head, "Scared of heights?"

DJ nodded, "Ever since I was a little kid."

Chris patted him on the back, "That's ok, big guy! Unfortunately, that also makes you a chicken, so you have to where this hat for the rest of the challenge!" The host produced a rubber chicken hat and gave it to DJ, who took it begrudgingly,

"Aw, man, fo' real?"

Chris then directed DJ over to the other side of the cliff, where an escalator awaited him, "Ride down is that-a-way for loser like you!" As DJ shuffled over to the escalator, Chris mocked him with chicken noises. Then he turned to Ella,

"How about it, shy artist? Got what it takes to not let your team down?"

Ella looked at Chris, then to the Gophers, then over at Courtney and Sadie. Finally, she took a deep breath and threw herself over the side of the cliff, letting out a shrill scream and landing safely in the middle of the safe zone.

Chris smiled over the edge, "Alrighty, that's nine jumpers and one chicken, we need two more Bass!" The host turned back over to Sadie and Courtney, the former was desperately clutching onto Katie,

"I'm not going without Katie!"

"And I'm not going without Sadie!"

Chris chuckled, "Oh you can go together, down the escalator of losers, wearing chicken hats!"

Before anyone else could react, Katie and Sadie squeeled, grabbed two hats, and ran off to the escalator. Only Courtney was left on the Bass side. She peered over the side and turned to Chris,

"Uhm, Chris? I have a medical condition."

"What condition?"

"A condition that prevents me from jumping off cliffs."

Chris smirked evilly, "Well, you could chicken out now, but it might cost your team the win!"

Courtney smirked in reply, "It's a calculated risk; I've seen the other team and I doubt nine of them will jump."

Chris shrugged and handed Courtney a chicken hat, "Suit yourself! Gophers, you're up!"

The camera panned over to the Gopher team, who all stood in an awkward silence. Finally, Heather said,

"There's no way I'm jumping."

There was a beat.

Leshawna reacted first,

"Excuse me?"

Another beat.

"Uhm, hello? National television? I'll get my hair wet."

Another beat.

Gwen looked flabbergasted,

"You're kidding, right?"

Lindsay chimed in, walking closer to Heather, "If she's not doing it, I'm not doing it!"

As the two girls smiled at each other, Leshawna got up in Heather's face, "Oh, you're doin' it!"

Unwilling to be intimidated, Heather shot back, "Says who?"

"Says me! I'm not losin' this challenges cuz you got yo hair did, you spoiled little daddy's girl!"

Lindsay backed nervously away to the on looking Noah, Justin and Trent. Heather fired back, thus engaging the battle of the teenage wits,

"Back off, ghetto glamour, too-tight pants wearin, rap star wannabe!"

"Mall shoppin', ponytail wearin', Teen Girl readin', peakin' at high school prom queen!"

Then Heather delivered the final blow with a smirk and cocked eyebrow, "Well at least I'm popular."

Silence.

Then, a visibly angered Leshawna retaliated, "You're jumpin'!"

"Make me."

Well, she did ask for it.

Almost on cue, Leshawna grabbed Heather, held her over her head, and threw her off the cliff. The mean girl screamed loudly all the way into the safe zone, landing with a dainty little splash. Upon resurfacing, she yelled up at Leshawna,

"Leshawna, you are so dead!"

Leshawna, who surprisingly heard that, called back down, "Hey, I threw you into the safe-zone, didn't I?" She looked over to her team, "Now let's hope I can hit it too."

She jumped, following Heather into the safe zone, and resurfacing with a smile.

Liam looked over the side of the cliff, nervous look on his face. He let loose an uneasy laugh and tried to release the tension, "Well, at least I know that my hair looks great when wet!"

He jumped safely next to Leshawna and Heather, the two still glaring at each other. Lindsay walked up next to Chris,

"I thought this was gonna be a talent contest?"

Chris faked a laugh, "Haha, yeah, haha, no!"

Lindsay proceeded to jump, followed by Gwen, Cody, Izzy, and Justin. The latter of which fell just short of the safe zone. The other Gophers, now safely on the boat, called out to him to swim to shore. He merely glanced over at them, then looked behind himself to see two sharks fast approaching him. They surfaced to attack, but upon laying their eyes on the gorgeous man, couldn't help but fall into a deep infatuation. Instead of mauling him, they gently carried him to shore without a scratch.

It was Beth's turn, but the wannabe merely looked over the side, judging the distance and trying to determine her course of action. Finally, she decided, "I-I can't do it. I'm too scared!"

Chris said nothing, but cheekily waved a rubber chicken hat in her face. As Beth headed down the escalator, Noah made a remark,

"Wow. I'm shocked she didn't jump."

Owen, who didn't sense the sarcasm, turned to the scrawny bookworm, confused, "Really? I thought for sure she'd be too scared!"

Noah just looked up at Owen, rolled his eyes, and walked over to the ledge. He turned to Chris and asked, "How did you get away with doing this?"

Chris shrugged, "I have really talented lawyers!"

Noah sighed, then looked back at Trent and Owen, "Hey, if I don't make it out alive, you guys are invited to my funeral. It's a burial at sea."

The bookworm jumped, screaming all the way down until landing in the safe zone with a tiny splash. Trent walked by Owen, "Alright man, let's do this!" The musician jumped and echoed Noah's scream, before joining the bookworm in the safe zone.

Finally, Owen stepped up. Chris produced a megaphone from midair and announced, "Alright Gophers, there's only one camper left! You guys need this jump for the win!" He turned to the fatso and added, "No pressure, dude." Owen looked at him gratefully, before Chris retracted and added, "Ok, there's pressure!"

Owen turned to the edge of the cliff and looked down, as he did, he put on arm floatie devices that he acquired from slick editing. He then turned around, in preparation to jump and announced, "I'm going to die now. I'm going to freakin' die now!"

Chris simply smiled in anticipation. The twenty-three other campers all looked up at the big doofus, waiting eagerly to see what he would do.

 **Confessional Booth**

Geoff: I'm lookin' at this guy and thinkin': there's no way he's gonna jump!

Gwen: I actually thought, if he jumps this, he's gonna die.

 **End Confessionals**

Owen breathed in, trying to release all the nervous tension in his body. He narrowed his eyes, and focused solely on the horizon. Then, with amazing speed and agility for boy of his size, he ran and jumped off with a loud cry.

Trent and Noah treaded calmly in the safe zone, looking up with a smile.

"Alright, he jumped!"

Then their smiles faded.

"Do you think, maybe, we should've gotten on the boat?"

Before Trent could answer that, Owen made contact with the water, the cameras zoomed out and showed a giant splash akin to the detonation of an atomic bomb. The force sent the musician and bookworm hurtling towards the beach at maximum speed. The massive wave chased after them, landing on all of the campers situated on the beach. Even a couple of the sharks and the recovery boat found themselves buried in the sand.

It was Chris who spoke first, "And Owen wins the first part of the challenge for the Screaming Gophers!" The Gophers cheered as Chris continued, "As a reward, the Gophers will receive pull-carts to help them move their hot-tub supplies! But never fear Killer Bass, sometimes miracles happen!"

The ecstatic Gophers began loading their crates on several pull-carts while the Bass regrouped to assign people to carry boxes. Courtney stood up on one and began barking orders,

"Ok, everyone, split into pairs and take a crate. I recommend going with someone stronger than you if you're scrawny like Harold."

Harold frowned, "You don't have to say it aloud, GOSH!"

Duncan rolled his eyes, "And why should we listen to you, princess? As I recall, you're one of the reasons we have to carry these stupid crates to begin with!"

Tyler crossed his arms defiantly and agreed, "Yeah!" Courtney glared at him, causing the jock to pullback in fright. Courtney continued,

"Does anyone have a better idea?"

The Bass looked at each other and shrugged, not really having a problem with the plan as much as the planner. They proceeded to split off into pairs. Geoff saw a certain surfer girl heading over to a crate, partner-less and grinned. He jogged up to her, "Hey, Bridgette, need a hand?"

Bridgette returned the smile, "Yeah, thanks."

Tyler looked around and saw Sadie watching tearfully as Katie was being lead away by the Gophers. Felling bad for her, he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder,

"Hey, Sadie right? C'mon, help me with this crate, ok?"

Sadie looked up at the boy and nodded.

Harold stood off to one of the crates, trying desperately to move it, but to no avail. He took a deep breath, and gave one final heave before falling over. He noticed that Eva had grabbed his crate, stacking it on hers, and started marching off. Harold got up and jogged behind her.

Courtney watched as DJ helped Ella carry her crate, then turned to find Duncan whittling away on some stick he found, leaning against her crate. She scowled,

"What do you want?"

Duncan continued whittling and shrugged, "You said to find someone who needed help and help them." He looked at her and smirked, "So I'm here, helping."

Courtney rolled her eyes, "Oh please, as if I need your help!" She made a motion to move the crate, but was unable to make it budge. Finally, she relented, "Ok, fine, you can help me." Duncan leaned off the crate and went to the other side, helping Courtney lift it into the air.

The criminal smiled, "I knew you'd need me."

Courtney scoffed, "Less talking, more moving!"

Gophers

The Gophers had arrived to the campsite with ease, after splitting into groups of two and pulling the carts that way, they didn't even have to stop to take a break. Now, however, was the difficult part,

"I'm so glad I remembered to remind you that you can only use your teeth to open the crates! That would've been awful of me if I had neglected to mention that!"

Heather scowled at the host, resisting the urge to drop the rope and yell at him. But even she knew that she had to contribute something in the unlikely case her team actually lost. She glanced over at Liam, who seemed to be struggling more with the challenge than she was. Although, she could tell that he was putting in more effort to not pull so hard, probably for fear of burning his tongue.

Somehow, the Gophers managed to open the crates before the Bass had even shown up, and when they did, Heather was there to lead them through the building process,

"Come on, move it people! We haven't got all day! Lindsay, Noah, Cody, Katie, go get the water! Trent, Leshawna, move it quicker with those hammers! Come on, keep up the pace!"

Leshawna groaned, "Keep up the yellin' and I'll hammer yo' face in!"

Heather rolled her eyes, but relented nonetheless. Gwen approached Trent with several nails and planks, dropping them nearby. He bent down to grab another nail, accidentally brushing up against Gwen's hand. They looked at each other for a moment, Trent smiled and Gwen blushed ever so slightly, before the Gothic girl scowled and walked away. Confused, Trent turned back to hammer in the nail, but was met with a certain actor grinning coyly.

"I saw that!"

"Saw what?"

Liam rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, pretty boy, don't tell me you didn't see her blush? She totally likes you!"

Trent looked back at Gwen, smiling slightly as he watched her helping Noah get water. He turned back to Liam, "You think so?"

Liam nodded. Trent perked up, "Alright! What should I do?"

The actor slid his arm around Trent's shoulder, "Just play it cool, dude! Wait for the right moments to do spontaneous little nice things for her, warm her up to you, and then: bam! Hit her with an epic love ballad and ask her to prom!" Liam paused to recompose himself, "Well, at least ask her out, I doubt Chris is throwing a prom around here anytime soon."

Trent looked back over at Gwen, then to Liam, "You sure about this man?"

Liam rolled his eyes, "Oh trust me, I'm always right!"

Trent smiled contently, "Cool. Thanks man."

The actor gave a thumbs up, "No problem!"

The Gophers were about halfway done constructing the hot tub when the Bass finally arrived. Heather took the opportunity to gloat, "Wow, what took you guys so long?"

Courtney was fuming, "Somebody here decided to take a little bathroom break and slow us down!"

Sadie walked up next to Courtney, violently scratching her butt, "It's not my fault I squatted in poison ivy!"

"It absolutely is your fault!"

Katie ran up to Sadie, dropping her bucket of water on Cody, wetting his pants.

"Oh my gosh, Sadie! Are you ok?"

"Oh my gosh, Katie! Look at my butt!"

"Oh I still think you're the prettiest girl I know!"

"Oh my gosh, that means so much because you're the prettiest girl I know!"

"Why do they have to keep us apart like this?"

"It's so unfair!"

"Totally unfair!"

Courtney interjected, "Will you shut up? Sadie, come over here and help us with the challenge?"

The fatter twin followed Courtney reluctantly as Heather called out, "You're gonna need more help than that if you want even a chance at winning!"

Before the Bass had even finished opening their crates, the Gophers cheered as they stood back to admire their completed hot-tub.

Ezekiel looked over at the spectacle, then muttered dejectedly, "They already finished, eh!"

Geoff turned around and saw this, then looked down at the prairie boy and patted his back, "No worries, dude, we so got this!"

Tyler overheard, "Yeah! We can still totally dominate this game!"

The two optimistic airheads released a triumphant holler and proceeded to hammer in nails even faster, unwittingly making the hot-tub sloppier.

Ezekiel, DJ, Harold, Sadie, and Bridgette all echoed their triumphant yells and also sped up in their handiwork. Finally, after ten minutes of motivated work time, the Bass had completed their hot-tub, and awaited Chris to come and inspect it.

Chris approached the Gopher tub first, admiring the picture-perfect look of it. The Gophers stood to the side, some nervously biting at their nails. The host smiled, "Not too shabby! Bass?"

He walked over to the unimpressive, poorly constructed Bass tub, held together with crooked planks, bent nails, and patches of duct-tape. The host got closer to it, tapping one of the duct-tape patches, which undid it and sprayed his face with lake water. Chris sputtered, and the Bass tub let loose a low groan before finally collapsing.

Chris stood up and looked in between the two teams and announced, "I think we have a winner here… the Screaming Gophers!"

The Gophers all cheered, the host continued, "And as a bonus, you guys get to keep this hot tub for the rest of the competition!" The winning team cheered even louder. The host turned to the other team and grinned, "Killer Bass, one of you will be going home tonight. And by the looks of it, there are several campers on the chopping block!"

Main Lodge- Bass

The Bass all huddled around the table, discussing the upcoming elimination.

"Are you sure we should be talking about this in front of everyone?" the surfer girl asked skeptically.

Courtney nodded, "We should vote as a team! Decide who the weakest link is and get rid of them!"

Bridgette frowned, "That just seems kinda, mean."

Duncan shrugged, "Well I say we vote for princess over here." He jerked a thumb at Courtney, who looked taken aback,

"Me? Why me?"

Duncan rolled his eyes, "Well, last I recall, you, DJ, and Twiddle-idiot were the only ones who didn't jump! And, if we ever have to move something big, I like our odds with the brick house."

He high-fived DJ. Courtney proceeded to defend her case, "Well, what about Sadie? She slowed us down with her butt infection on top of not jumping!"

The criminal shrugged, "Sure, but she's not annoying me right now."

Sadie glared at Courtney, still scratching her butt, "I'm not the only one who slowed us down!" She looked around the table then pointed at Geoff, "What about him?"

Geoff looked shocked, "Whoa dudette! What did I do?"

Courtney aggressed, "Well, you did cause us to build that sloppy tub! If you had just listened to me, we might've beaten the Gophers!"

"Well I still doon't get how we lost, eh? They're the one with six gurls on their team!" The table fell silent and everyone looked over at a certain prairie boy with his arms crossed.

Bridgette frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Courtney scowled, "Besides, we have six girls too!"

Eva lunged forward, fist waved in front of Ezekiel's face, "Yeah, homeschool, enlighten us!"

Ezekiel looked at the encroaching girls and shrugged defensively, "Well, I meant, like, gurly-gurls, eh?" he pointed to Eva, who began to growl, but the homeschool wasn't finished, "And, guys are much stronger and faster than girls are! My pa told me that if I saw any gurl struggling to help 'em to keep up, eh?"

The fitness buff throttled him, "Still think we need help keeping up?"

Ezekiel choked, "Noot… really…"

Geoff approached the crowded area of the table, "Whoa, c'mon guys, let's all just mellow out here an' give him a break! I mean, at least he doesn't think guys are smarter than girls, right?"

Eva relinquished Ezekiel, who weakly sat back up, "Boot, they are, eh?"

Geoff slowly backed away as Eva pummeled the homeschooled boy. Duncan chortled, "I think this meeting is over." He got up and moved to the door, Tyler, Harold, Ella, and DJ following. Courtney got up as well and called out,

"But, wait, we haven't decided who we're going to-" she looked down at Sadie, who was still scratching her ailment, "Never mind."

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: As much as Ezekiel's comments bugged me, he at least pulled his own during the challenge today.

Sadie: I cannot believe how mean Courtney is! What gives her the right to be so bossy when she didn't even jump? You don't see me be that bossy!

Eva: If there's one thing I hate more than chickens and control freaks: its sexists!

 **End Confessionals**

Campfire Pit- Killer Bass

"Campers, welcome to the first ever bonfire ceremony! You have all cast your votes, and made your decisions. Before me you will see a plate with eleven marshmallows, a tasty summer treat, representing fun. But tonight, they represent life. Eleven of you will receive a marshmallow, signifying your continued participation on Total Drama Island. However, one of you, will not be so fortunate, and will have to walk the dock of shame, ride the boat of losers, and go home, never coming back… ever!"

The twelve Bass looked around, half with fright half with confidence. Chris continued, "When I call your name, please come and claim your marshmallow: Duncan."

The punk got up with a smirk and grabbed the marshmallow off of Chris' tray.

"Harold."

The lanky nerd gave a small "Yes" before strutting over to collect his reward.

"Ella."

The shy artist shuffled timidly up to get the fluffy treat, smiling slightly as it entered her mouth.

"Bridgette."

The surfer girl smiled calmly, hands in her pocket, as she walked up to claim her prize.

"DJ."

The gentle giant's nervous face was soon replaced with one of relief as he stood up and walked over to the others.

"Geoff."

The party animal fisted the air, "Alright!" he exclaimed as he joined the safe crew.

"Tyler."

The jock also celebrated with a short "Yeah!" giving the party animal a fist-bump as they both feasted on their marshmallow.

"Eva."

The fitness buff said nothing as she walked up to claim her marshmallow and nibbled on it beside Tyler and Geoff.

"Izzy."

The crazy girl leaped up from her stump and bounded over to the others with a wicked grin on her face, devouring her marshmallow.

"Courtney."

The overachiever got up with confidence, chicken hat flopping side to side, as she strode over to the others, glaring at Sadie.

"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening."

Ezekiel looked at Sadie. Sadie looked at Ezekiel. They were both visibly frightened, shaking even as Chris drew out the suspense, "The final marshmallow goes too…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Ezekiel."

The homeschooled boy let loose a sigh of relief as he got up to go claim his prize. Tyler patted him on the shoulder, and Geoff even offered him a fist-bump.

Sadie sat in shock. She looked up at her former team mates, watching as Courtney glared, Duncan looked apathetic, and most of the others glanced away guiltily. Chris broke the silence,

"Sadie, the boat of losers awaits."

The larger bff stood up angrily, "You know what? That's just fine with me! Who cares about this stupid show if I can't even be with my best friend?"

As if on cue, her skinnier twin burst out from behind the bushes, crying hysterically. She was followed by a concerned Trent and dutiful Liam.

"No! Sadie! Why?"

"Katie! I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you so much more!"

"I miss you already!"

"I missed you already!"

The two were being escorted down the dock of shame, the skinnier one only because she refused to let her friend go. Finally, with great effort, Chef managed to pry the two apart, shoving Sadie into the boat, as he got in behind the wheel.

"Win for me, Katie! I know you can! You're the strongest, bravest, smartest, prettiest girl I know!"

"No, you're the strongest, bravest, smartest, prettiest girl I know!"

"You can do it!"

"I miss you!"

"I miss you more!"

"I miss you infinitely more! Bye!"

Katie had to shout that last part as her friend was boated away past the horizon. As she began to break down, Trent and Liam approached her, attempting to soothe her into coming back with them. Finally, to no avail, they each grabbed one of her arms and proceeded to lift her away and back to the Gopher party.

As they walked by the Bass, the vainglorious actor couldn't help but grin teasingly over at the losing team,

"I look forward to seeing you all here again in a couple of days!"

Courtney called back out, "Oh yeah? You're not gonna be seeing me here again, that's for sure!"

Liam called back, "Shall I wait for you by the cabins, then?"

The overachiever sputtered and grew flustered, "Ugh, in your dreams!"

The actor winked, "I have a funny habit of making my dreams reality!"

Before Courtney could respond, the actor and musician walked away, the thin bff still in tow. She scowled and turned to the surfer girl, "Boys can be such pigs!" The two turned to Harold, who was picking his nose at that very moment. The girls looked back at each other and shuddered in disgust.

Gophers

"Man! I love you guys! I wish we could win like this all the time! This is awesome! WOO-HOO!"

The Gophers cheered as Owen belly-flopped into the hot-tub, splashing all the water out, and completely flattening the hot-tub. Owen looked around the area, making eye contact with his glaring team mates. He chuckled and smiled weakly, "Oops."

* * *

 **A.N:** I thought it would be funny if Owen destroyed the hot-tub! Maybe it'll give some incentive to boot him off earlier? Or not, probably not.

So, what did you think? First major difference is Chris not allowing the team swap, which never came up because he sent Katie and Sadie down the escalator before they could ask. So Izzy is still a Killer Bass and Katie is still a Screaming Gopher. Will that make a difference? Probably, only one way to find out though.

Difference number two: Ezekiel lives! So instead of the Zeke going, we say goodbye to Sadie. Sorry Sadie fans... if there are any. I am pretty sure that homeschool has more, and he will be extending his stay here. You better believe that he will impact the story majorly! And as for Sadie, and subsequently Katie who must now endure the show without her bfffl, I have a plan for them. I eliminated her for a reason and Ezekiel gets to stay also for a reason. This is not the last of Sadie, assuming I can make it to that point!

As always, let me know what you thought or what you're still thinking! Hope to see you again! If not, good thing I quit so early!

-That1guyeveryonehates.


	3. The Big Sleep

**A.N:** Chapter 3 is up, which means I'm halfway done with Chapter 4! This is exciting, isn't it? I wonder how long I'll be able to remain this productive? Now on to addressing comments and potential questions!

As this is an OC inclusive story, you can expect that both Liam and Ella will receive their approrpiate amount of development. They both will receive among the most development during this season, and varying amounts in potential seasons to come (that is, if I can get past this one). Like I said, I have a rough outline of this storyline from the Island all the way to All-Stars, so hopefully I can get that far because I think it's quite ineresting! No promises though! however, just becuase the OCs will be major characters, I don't necessarily intend to make them the main characters or exclude any other character development. This is a very diverse and interesting cast, even without the OCs, so if it doesn;t appear that I've settled on an obvious main character, that's why. The best oart of Total Drama, I'm sure we can all agree, is the cast.

In regards to Sadie and subsequently Katie, let me be clear: I don't hate either character. While they might not be my favorites, I don't despise them. This story isn't going to eliminate based off of my preferences in characters, but rather the most plausible outcome. Therefore, some eliminations might be the same and some might be different. Some relationships might be the same and some might be different. Yes, I will be factoring in some of my preferences in couples, but I'm going to try and make it as realistic as possible. The sad thing about Total Drama is there will always be characters who don't get developed as much. Sadie, unfortunately, is one of those filler characters, and while it seems predictable to get rid of her early on, it also seems realistic. I do feel like she is slightly more developed than Katie is, which is kind of why I slected keeping Katie of Sadie. That and I didn't swap Izzy and Katie, which I think was also a factor in helping eliminate Ezekiel in the original, because people couldn't settle on either Katie or Sadie, thus splitting the vote. Katie will get some development in this season, and Sadie will get some in a later season (hopefully).

I think that's mostly everything. If you're at all curious to know, I can post the voting as well in the author's notes. If not, I won't, but I do have the voting results handy should you wish to see them. Anyway, on with the show!

* * *

Episode 3: The Big Sleep

"Last time on Total Drama Island: the twenty-four campers were split into the Killer Bass and Screaming Gopher teams and forced to jump off of a one-thousand-foot cliff into shark-infested waters! After jumping, the Bass struggled to work together as a team to build their hot-tub. In the end, the Bass had to send someone home, and although Ezekiel's comments were enough to make all the girls hate his guts, it was Sadie who was sent home due to her obsession with her best friend: Gopher team member Katie! Will the Bass be able to recover from their embarrassing loss, will the Gophers keep their cool and win again? And how much drama can I squeeze out of these teenagers? Find out right here on Total Drama Island!"

 **Theme Song**

Bass Cabin- Boys

Ezekiel had opted, unlike the rest of his team mates, to get up early at five o'clock. He was already used to the farmer's lifestyle, and saw no reason to change it just because he wasn't on the farm anymore. He had just returned from taking a shower when he was startled by a loud air horn.

Ezekiel watched as his male team mates all jumped out of their beds falling on to the floor in shock, startled awake. Duncan rolled over off of Harold, rubbing his head and grimacing,

"Ah, what the Hell was that?"

Tyler and Geoff helped each other up and looked around, the party animal trying to find the source of the noise,

"Dudes, did someone forget to turn off their alarm?"

They didn't have to question much longer as a familiar voice blared into their cabin,

"Attention campers! Get dressed and meet me in front of the main lodge and await further instructions! MacLean out!"

The punk growled, "That MacLean is gonna get on my last nerve!"

Geoff yawned and looked over at the prairie boy, "Yo, Zeke, whatcha dressed already for, dude?"

Ezekiel scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I usually get oop this early, eh. I kinda live on a farm."

The party animal yawned again and grinned, punching Ezekiel on the shoulder, "Nice dude!"

Duncan then approached the homeschooled kid, poking him threateningly on the chest, "Hey, homeschool, we gotta talk about the other day."

Tyler, Geoff, DJ, and Harold, each in different stages of getting dressed all crowded around and nodded, looking at the prairie boy. Ezekiel was confused,

"Aboot what, eh?"

Duncan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "About your comments man."

Geoff nodded, "Yeah, dude, you can't say things like that in front of the chicks! They get all p.o-ed and stuff!"

Ezekiel recalled the comments he made that had angered the girls on his team, "Oh. Soory, eh? I guess I joost thought everyone knew that, eh?"

Duncan smirked, "Well, yeah, we do. Chicks are just sensitive and all!"

The other guys nodded.

DJ piped up, "The point is, man, just be careful whatcha say. My momma always said that if you don't got anythin' nice to say, you ain't got nothin' to say!"

Geoff and Tyler nodded, "Amen brother!"

Ezekiel looked down and fiddled with his fingers, "Well, thanks fur tellin' me, eh?"

Geoff beamed, "No problem, dude! You're our bro, we gotta be lookin' out for each other!"

Ezekiel smiled, but quickly frowned guiltily, "Boot… wut aboot the gurls, eh? How do I get them too furgive me, eh?"

The punk shrugged, "Just apologize, man. If any of 'em give ya a hard time after that, then they're just holdin' a grudge. Don't take it too hard, man."

The prairie boy nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. By this time, all the guys had finished getting dressed. Geoff wrapped his arms around the guys and cheered, "Alright Bass Bros, let's do this!"

The guys all cheered and proceeded to exit the cabin.

Gopher Cabin- Girls

"That Chris needs to take a chill pill, this sistah cannot be missin' her beauty sleep!"

"You definitely need it."

"What was that?"

"You heard me."

"Ooo, I'm about ta send you into a beauty coma!"

The other girls watched exhaustedly as Leshawna and Heather started going at each other yet again. It had been like this for the last two days, so much so that it had already become routine. As the two proceeded to fight, Lindsay was picking out a bra from her luggage,

"Does anyone know what the challenge will be today?"

Gwen rolled her eyes and answered the vapid airhead, "No, we don't know that until we get there."

Lindsay whined, "Aw, how am I supposed to color coordinate?"

Gwen gave her a look, "How do you color coordinate for a challenge?"

Lindsay pouted, "Well, I can't if I don't know what it is!"

The Goth girl rolled her eyes and proceeded to get dressed, licking her hair into place, knowing she wouldn't be allowed to have shower time. She was already sick of this place; between Heather and Leshawna's bickering, and Beth, Lindsay, and Katie constantly chattering, she was seriously wishing she could sleep with the boys.

Gopher Cabin- Boys

"Seriously Owen? You couldn't hold it in until you got to the bathroom?"

"I'm sorry guys! I just couldn't hold it!"

"What the Hell did I just feel dripping down onto my bed?"

Noah was simply laying on his bed, looking up and not wanting to move a muscle. Somehow, Owen had convinced the others that it was a good idea to let him take a top bunk. Unfortunately for the bookworm, he'd gotten the opportunity to sleep directly under the big oaf.

Trent plugged his nose as he added on to his earlier question, "Why can't you at least go outside?"

Owen jumped off of his bunk, shaking the cabin as he landed. Justin and Liam, both using the mirror to fix their hair, glared at Owen as the vibrations had caused them to mess up their work. As they finished up, they swiftly exited the cabin. Cody and Trent watched them, then turned to Owen, who was struggling to get his pants on, and Noah, who was making no effort to open his eyes.

The musician went up to Noah, "Dude, we gotta go."

Noah sighed, "Fine. I'll be right there, go on ahead."

Knowing full well that trick, Trent waited for Noah to realize that he was still there. The bookworm rolled his eyes and moved, "Ugh, fine, whatever."

Trent smiled and lightly punched Noah's shoulder, "There, was that so bad?"

Noah shrugged, "Probably not. Just please don't try to help me get dressed, too."

The bookworm pointed over at Cody, who was helping Owen struggle to put his pants on. Finally, Owen let loose another gas bomb, this time in Cody's face. Nevertheless, the bookworm and musician smelled it too.

"Dude!"

Bass Cabin- Girls

Bridgette was just putting her deodorant on when she turned to find Ella still sleeping. The other girls had long since been gone, and the surfer girl couldn't help but smile that there was one other girl on her team that was as lazy as she was. Nevertheless, she went over to shake the sleeping artist awake.

"Hey, c'mon Ella, get up."

The raven-haired artist muttered something in her sleep, before lazily opening one brown eye and looking into Bridgette's green. Ella yawned,

"Morning… Bridgette?"

The surfer girl nodded, "I can't believe you slept through that siren, you must've been having an intense dream."

The pale girl sat up on her bed, sleepily rubbing her eyes and yawning, "Yeah, I dreamt I was at a summer camp…" she looked around groggily and gave a faint smile, "I guess I already am."

Bridgette giggled, "Well, you'd better get ready fast, I'm not sure the others well be too keen to wait much longer for us."

Main Lodge

Noah, Owen, Trent, and Cody were surprised to see that they weren't the last ones to arrive as Ella and Bridgette lazily strolled over to the meet the Killer Bass side. They all stood in a straight line behind some white chalk. Chris stood on the porch of the main lodge, holding a megaphone in his hands. Him being himself, he used it,

"Campers, in order to get you into shape for what is to come, you will be completing a 20 Kilometer jog around the island!"

"But what about breakfast?"

"Oh don't worry Owen, you'll get breakfast—haha! Alrighty campers, on your mark, get set, go, go, go!"

Chris pressed down on a button on the megaphone, releasing a loud siren, which the twenty-three teens interpreted as their signal to start jogging. However, not all of them seemed too intensely interested in going faster than a stroll.

"Don't you think you should be going faster, Noah?"

The bookworm refused to make eye contact with the musician,

"Dude, if I thought that, why would I be walking?"

Trent shrugged and jogged away.

The Woods- Tyler

As athletic as he was, Tyler was also prone to various bouts of accidents. He couldn't count on his fingers how many times he'd already stumbled as he tried catching up to Eva. He'd decided to allow the fitness buff to plow ahead of him, and now she was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes followed Ella and Bridgette as they passed him. They were jogging at a reasonable pace, but the artist wasn't quite as committed, and she seemed to get distracted by the trees. Too distracted to notice a tree root sticking out. She tripped and let loose a loud shriek as she fell to her knees.

Bridgette hurried over to her, "Hey, are you ok?"

Ella shook her head, her eyes welling up, "No, I think I twisted my ankle!"

Feeling the urge to help out, Tyler hustled over to the two girls, offering his hand to the fallen artist, "Hey, wanna get on my back?"

Before she could say anything, the talentless jock pulled her up and onto his back. It was quite a nice view, she found. The canopies were closer, and the jock's tracksuit was nice and soft. She smiled,

"T-thank you."

Tyler smiled back, "No problem! Now let's go and win this!"

He jogged forward, this time making extra sure not to trip himself up. Bridgette was right beside him, and soon, Ella drifted to sleep, chin resting nestled into Tyler's hair.

 **Confessionals**

Bridgette: Oh my God, that was so cute! Guess chivalry isn't dead after all.

Tyler: I'd like to think that I would've done that for anyone, not just for a cute girl- uh, I mean **Tyler's eyes go wide**

 **End Confessionals**

The Woods- Liam

"It's too damn hot for this!"

The actor had neglected to put on his blue jacket, keeping only his blue pants and white button up, which he had to unbutton and roll up to minimize heat.

Nearby, he witnessed Leshawna and Gwen panting side by side. He wanted to approach his fellow team mates, either to flirt with or encourage them, but thought against it as he was about to keel over. Running definitely took the speech out of him.

Leshawna noticed him and waved for him to keep up. Liam forced himself to get over his swelling cramp and move faster to keep pace with his team mates.

Main Lodge- Eva

Eva sat at the end of the Bass table, silently listening to music on her mp3 player. She had been the first one back, and disinterestedly watched as the others filtered in. As her cool-down playlist finished off, she mentally counted the number of Bass versus the number of Gophers. She realized that three Gopher members were still missing as opposed to one Bass member. Grinning with confidence, the fitness buff awaited for the alpha dweeb to return.

Before Harold could return, however, Owen burst through the lodge door, panicked expression on his face, and a certain bookworm slung over his shoulder. Behind him, Cody stumbled into the lodge, wiping out on the floor. Owen was going ballistic,

"Clear a table, stat!"

Owen flopped Noah onto the Gopher table, and began performing CPR, which he didn't know how to do. Frantically he called out, "Does anyone know CPR?"

Bridgette stood up from the Bass side, "I do!"

The surfer girl rushed over to the Gopher table, and began utilizing her lifeguard training on the unconscious bookworm. Several other campers crowded around, waiting with baited breath for Noah to wake up.

Finally, Chris popped out from behind the kitchen counter and, ignoring the commotion, announced, "And with that entrance, the Screaming Gophers arrive first!"

Almost on cue, Noah regained consciousness and joined the Gophers in cheering. When the other campers noticed Noah awake, they glared at him. The bookworm raised an eyebrow,

"What?"

Before anyone could answer, Harold burst in, wheezing uncontrollably. Courtney stormed over to him, "Great, Harold! Thanks to you, we lost the challenge, again!"

Harold's eyes went funky as he sputtered, "Heart… palpitations… must… have… oxygen!"

He collapsed on top of Cody, while the type-A merely looked down at him, still scowling. She then turned to Bridgette, still sitting by Noah and the Gophers and pointed accusingly,

"And you! What do you think you're doing helping the other team?"

Bridgette frowned, "I was trying to save his life! Excuse me for caring about living people!"

The bookworm shrugged, "I mean, you probably didn't have to."

The surfer girl shot Noah a look, and for once, the bookworm looked scared. He laughed nervously, "I mean, uh, thanks?"

Bridgette turned away, and returned to the Bass table. As the Gophers got settled back down, the host continued, "Alright campers, now, who's hungry?"

Upon asking, Chris revealed a large turkey buffet awaiting the campers on a nearby table. Everyone gasped and a great murmur of excitement was heard throughout the lodge.

 **Confessionals**

Gwen: Ok, I know it's only been a couple of days, but after six meals of garbage, I was ready to cry when I saw that buffet.

Owen: Oh man, that buffet was wild! The turkey, the gravy, the mashed potatoes! Oh, excuse me, I need a moment **he begins to sob**

 **End Confessionals**

Groans of satisfied stomachs were echoing throughout the lodge, as several campers grabbed their bellies. They felt like they had never eaten so much before in their lives, and with very few exceptions, that was probably true.

Chris reappeared from the kitchen, TV. grin on his face, "Well campers, I hope you enjoyed your meal, because now it's time for the second part of the challenge!"

Owen piped up, confused, "I thought eating was the second part?"

Chris continued, "Please meet me at the campfire ground pronto; it's time to start: The Awake-o-thon!"

The jolly fat guy was still confused, "The What-o-what-o-thon?"

Gwen chimed in, "Do you mean to tell me that you made us run twenty kilometers and eat that full turkey dinner just so it would be harder for us to stay awake in a challenge where we have to do just that?"

Chris smiled, "Bingo!" The campers groaned. The host laughed and proceeded to walk out of the lodge, "See ya in five, campers!"

Campfire Ground

"The rules are simple: you must stay awake for as long as you possibly can! Anyone found sleeping, for longer then 60 seconds will be out of the challenge. The team with the last person standing wins, and the losing team will come right back here to vote someone off! Savvy?"

A few campers nodded, Chris took that as a sign of approval.

"Alright campers, the Awake-o-thon officially begins: now!"

Gwen trudged over to a nearby tree and sat down. Pulling out her diary, she began to add on to her tales at camp.

Trent watched with an unsure expression on his face. He was approached by Liam, who had an mp3 player in his hands. The actor noticed Trent's dismay, and quickly realized that he was longing after a certain Goth girl. Liam smiled,

"You should go talk to her, dude."

Trent shook his head, "I can't do that, she'll think I'm weird."

The actor rolled his eyes, "Not if you don't screw it up. Just tell her you wanna help keep her awake so that we win, or just admit you wanna get to know her better." The musician thought for a moment before Liam added, "You're never gonna know what happens if nothing ever happens."

Trent nodded, "I guess that's true." Finally, he grinned confidently, "Alright, I'll do it!"

Liam gave him a thumbs up, "Good man! Go out there and conquer your dreams!"

Trent proceeded to walk over by Gwen, leaving the actor to grin triumphantly and put in his earbuds.

 **Confessionals**

Trent: The fact that Liam has been helping me out with Gwen since day one means a lot to me. I really want to leave a good impression on her, but sometimes I can get kinda awkward without that first push.

Liam: Do I have any ulterior motives in playing matchmaker? Not particularly. Although, if Trent sees me as the man who got him together with his crush, he'd be less likely to vote me off in the future. Even if he doesn't hit it off with Gwen, he won't blame that on me!

 **End Confessionals**

The musician strolled over to the tree where the Goth girl sat isolated from the rest. She looked up and gave him a quizzical look, "Um, can I help you?"

Trent smiled coolly, "Just wanted to talk, maybe keep ya company during the challenge."

Gwen raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Trent shrugged, "So we can help each other stay awake? Besides, if we're gonna be on this island together, we might as well make the most of it." He pointed to the tree, "Mind if I sit here?"

Gwen, who secretly didn't mind at all, shrugged apathetically, "Whatever."

The musician sat down next to her, and leaned over to look at her diary, "Whatcha writin'?"

The Goth girl clutched her diary protectively away from Trent's eyes, "Nothing that concerns you." She spat at him, knowing full well that most of what she was writing did in fact concern the musician she'd developed a crush on.

Trent held his hands up defensively, trying a smile to cool off the tension, "Sorry, I didn't realize it was personal."

Gwen couldn't help but get lost in the musician's green eyes, he seemed genuinely apologetic about the misunderstanding. She eased up a bit, realizing that he wasn't trying to antagonize her, "It's fine. Honest mistake."

The two sat in silence, although it wasn't an awkward one. Gwen continued to finish up her letters to herself while Trent strummed around on his guitar. They secretly enjoyed the silence, as long as the other was sitting right there.

Time Reached: Twelve Hours

Bass Awake: Eleven

Gophers Awake: Twelve

Over on the other side of the campfire pit, in fishier territory, Ella was sketching away in her sketchpad. She had already finished drawing her team mates, including Sadie, and had gone on to draw the members of the opposing team, starting with Katie.

She was halfway done with Owen when she heard the blond cry out from the other side,

"WOO-HOO! Stay awake for twelve hours! I could do that in my sleep! WOO-HOO!"

As if on cue, the lovable oaf fell instantly to the ground, asleep. Several Gophers groaned now that they'd lost their lead. Ella noticed Courtney smile. The overachiever was currently walking in place next to one of the logs. How this was meant to keep her awake, Ella wasn't sure. She figured it would only wear the girl out.

She continued sketching away when she was suddenly interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see the blonde surfer girl smiling at her,

"Hey, mind if I sit by you?"

The shy artist nodded as Bridgette took the seat next to her. Bridgette looked over at Ella's sketchpad, admiring her work, "Wow, those are good!"

Ella managed a small "Thank you" then proceeded to continue her work on Owen. Bridgette, however, was determined to keep the conversation going.

"How long have you been drawing?"

Ella blinked, "I don't know. All my life, I guess? At least as long as I could hold a pencil."

Bridgette nodded, "I know what you mean, I'm the same way with surfing. I feel like I learned how to surf before I learned how to walk. It's just so natural for me."

Ella nodded, "Yeah. Sorry that there aren't any good waves up here."

Bridgette shrugged, "I don't know why I bothered to bring my surfboard anyway. I doubt we'd even have time to just relax and hang."

The two girls chattered away. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by several of their team mates of male origin.

"Dude, I'm tellin' ya, Bridgette is like, uber hot!"

Geoff allowed a low whistle as he informed DJ and Tyler of his thoughts on the surfer girl. DJ added, "She's pretty chill too, unlike some of the other girls on out team."

He motioned to Eva, Courtney, and Izzy. Tyler nodded, "Oh I definitely am glad not all the girls are like that!"

Geoff nudged the jock, "Got your eye on anyone, dude?"

Tyler looked around. His eyes hovered on Lindsay, the gorgeous Gopher blonde who was easily the most attractive girl on the island. He then looked back over at Bridgette and Ella, his eyes settling on the latter artist. She was cute too, although in a manner different to that of Lindsay. Lindsay was definitely of model quality, everything about her screamed A-List celebrity and magazine photo-shoots. Ella, on the other hand, seemed a lot more down to earth and real to him. He never had given a though about being into a girl like her back at his high school. Yet here he was, debating between what seemed like a simple choice.

Geoff nudged him again, "Uh, dude? Tell me you're not making eyes at my girl!"

The jock stayed staring at Ella trapped in an internal debate. DJ patted the party animal reassuringly on the shoulder, "Relax, dude. I think he's lookin' at someone else!"

Geoff looked between Tyler, then Ella, then Tyler, then Ella. Finally, after looking back and forth several more times, the party animal's confused look gave way to one of enlightenment. "Ooohhh."

Time Reached: Fifteen Hours

Bass Awake: Eleven

Gophers Awake: Eleven

Campers Out: Owen

"Time for a bathroom break, campers! Remember, you will have to wait another five hours to go again!"

Several campers stood up and walked over with Chef and a couple of the camera crew to supervise them. Liam watched as Beth, Heather, Noah, Gwen, and Leshawna all went from his team. He stood up, but only to stretch his legs. Walking around the campfire, he made his way over to the Bass side.

His opposition looked too tired to notice that he was there, and the actor internally grinned at the prospect of all of them falling asleep right there and then. He looked over to see Courtney walking in pace, looking just as determined to stay awake as she was fifteen hours ago.

Liam grinned and walked up to her,

"Hey there, Courtney, right?"

The Type-A rolled her eyes in disgust,

"What do _you_ want, Gopher?"

The actor raised his hands in defense, "Hey, easy now. I called you by your name, the least you could do is try to remember mine!"

Courtney scoffed, "Just answer my question!"

Liam shrugged, "What, am I not allowed to talk to you?"

Courtney glared at him, "Obviously not! You're a member of the opposition! You could get us both in trouble for- "

"What, collusion? This isn't politics, hun, it's reality TV." The actor interrupted. He then grinned even wider, "And why would it matter to you if we _both_ got in trouble?"

Courtney crossed her arms, trying not get flustered, "I just don't want to get voted off because my team thought I was helping the enemy." She poked him in the chest, "And if you really were serious about winning, you'd do the same thing," she finished with a triumphant grin, "Otherwise, beating you won't be so enjoyable."

 **Confessionals**

Liam: **gives a low whistle** damn!

Courtney: Do I like Liam? As if! He's a member of the other team, I barely like the people on my team!

 **End Confessionals**

Time: Twenty-Four Hours

Bass: Seven

Gophers: Nine

Out: Owen, Izzy, Noah, Harold, DJ, Katie, Ella

After Ella had fallen asleep, Bridgette struggled to stay awake. She had relied on the artist to get her this far, talking and playing games to help each other stay awake. She looked lazily over at the other players left, scanning the field for signs of weakness. She never saw any.

Heather, meanwhile, was wide awake and scheming. She had been eyeing three of her team mates for the past day with great interest. Unfortunately for her, one of them was already out, having fallen asleep at least two hours ago.

The Queen Bee needed a hive, and she had found the perfect hive-minded individuals in Lindsay, Beth, and Katie. She hoped that Lindsay and Beth could stay awake at least long enough for Katie to wake up again, and the two seemed to be doing just fine staying awake. So Heather allowed herself to look away, watching her other team mates in their efforts to remain awake.

One of them was Cody, currently sitting off to the side playing on his Nintendo DS. He'd been playing it for the last five hours, almost non-stop, ever since Noah had fallen asleep. He and the bookworm had had a pretty intense conversation, and Cody was finding him to be great company once you got used to his cynicism and put-downs.

Leshawna too, was striving to keep herself awake. She had been reading some magazines, until it had gotten too dark to see anything. She was now deeply engrossed in conversation with Liam, over a topic they weren't even sure they knew.

 **Confessionals**

Heather: So, I know it's only the second challenge, but it's never too early to start thinking strategy. I've already found the perfect candidates for the position: Lindsiot, Blegth, and Twiddle-Dumb are all so dumb and desperate for leadership, that I know I can get them to do whatever I say. Now I just have to wait for Katie to wake up.

 **End Confessionals**

As Heather exited the Confessional, she was approached by a certain actor. Rolling her eyes, she scowled at him,

"Are you following me? I'm not that stupid Bass girl." Her eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips, "Why _are_ you flirting with her? Are you trying to help them?"

Liam raised his hands defensively, "Hey, first of all, I'm not following you, I'm coming to make a confessional! Second, I've been flirting with her since day one, so how could I have known that she would be on the other team?"

The Queen Bee continued, "Fine. But if I catch you talking to her again, you're as good as gone, got it?"

The actor raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? Like I should be scared of you? You have no influence in this team, your majesty."

Heather smirked, "Not yet."

She moved past him, leaving the actor to reflect on her words.

 **Confessional**

Liam: Methinks that I should watch my back, lest Heather pounce and doth attack.

 **End Confessionals**

Time: Fifty-Five Hours

Bass: Five

Gophers: Six

Out: Owen, Izzy, Noah, Harold, DJ, Katie, Ella, Bridgette, Geoff, Beth, Lindsay, Cody

"Alright campers, we're down to our last eleven competitors in the fifty-fifth hour! In order to speed things along, I've prepared a few… surprises!"

The host pulled a collection of fairytales from under his podium and placed them next to him.

The ten remaining campers groaned as Chris began reading a selection called, "Sleepy Village", which they were all fairly certain he had just made up.

Gwen and Trent sat next to each other, conversing as they had for the past fifty-five hours, albeit a bit more worn out.

"Hey, which one is the little dipper again?"

Gwen pointed up to the big dipper, "You see the handle of the big dipper? Just follow it to the brightest star, the pole star, and there it is."

Trent yawned, "Cool."

Tyler groaned, "I don't know how much more I can take this, man! I can't feel my body!"

Courtney growled at the jock, "No! Don't you dare! We cannot lose this challenge!"

Liam yawned and grinned, "Hey, if he wants to sleep, he wants to sleep! Let the guy sleep, after all, it is as the great Bard asks: To sleep or not to sleep, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to, uh, to die? To, uh, sleep? Sleep… sleep…"

The actor fell over onto the ground, out cold. Tyler, for whatever reason, took that as an invitation and soon joined Liam asleep on the floor. Courtney rolled her eyes,

"Great, we're down again."

Leshawna looked down at her team mate and rolled her eyes

 **Confessionals**

Leshawna: Listen, I like Liam an' all, but the boy needs to quit it with talkin' to the other team. This is a competition; you can barely trust the members of ya own team!

 **End Confessionals**

Heather waited patiently for Lindsay, Katie, and Beth to return from the showers before waving them over to her. The three girls, who had been chattering away about fashion or whatever, happily walked over and sat by the Queen Bee.

"Lindsay, Beth, Katie, I have a proposition for you. I've thought it over, and I've decided to take the three of you to the final four with me!"

The three girls all smiled and looked at each other excitedly. Heather continued,

"But in order to do that, you'll have to do whatever I say, got it?" The girls nodded, "Good."

 **Confessionals**

Heather: That was too easy! This is going to be a piece of cake.

Beth: Heather is taking me to the final four! I can't believe it! I'm going to the final four, I'm going to the final four! **she looks at the camera confused** I wonder what will happen then.

Katie: Oh my gosh, Sadie, did you see that? I'm going to the final four! I'm so gonna win this for us! I miss you! **she starts sobbing**

Lindsay: Oh, I can't wait to go to the final four with Helen, Bertha, and Kallie! This is gonna be so much fun!

 **End Confessionals**

"Look at him! He's like a statue! He hasn't moved in, like, fifty-hours."

Gwen and Trent looked intently at Justin, who indeed hadn't moved for roughly fifty-hours. As impressed as they were, they also wanted to interrupt the concentration, possibly giving them someone new to talk to.

"Hello? Yo!" Gwen shouted at him while Trent yipped and flailed his arms in front of the model's face. Finally, Gwen stepped closer, "Amazing, look at the concentration." She poked the model's face, and, much to her and Trent's surprise, Justin's eyes started rapidly rolling into the back of his head. At this point, it was safe to say that Gwen and Trent were quite in a state of shock, not being able to comprehend what the situation was. Fortunately for them, a certain fitness buff could,

"His eyelids are painted, I saw it!" Eva hollered, pointing accusatorily at Justin.

Chris reacted, "Shut up! Oh I've got to see this!" The host jogged over to inspect the model, who gave Chris a weak smile as he blinked and revealed his eyelids were indeed painted. Chris smiled, "That is so freakin' cool! But, you're still out dude."

As Justin walked away to go take a shower, Trent looked around confused, "Hey, has anyone seen Owen?"

Time: Eighty-Four Hours

Bass: Three

Gophers: Four

Asleep: Owen, Izzy, Noah, Harold, DJ, Katie, Ella, Bridgette, Geoff, Beth, Lindsay, Cody, Liam, Tyler, Justin, Courtney

" _Hey Noah, come in, the water's great!"_

 _The bookworm was more than happy to comply. Usually, he didn't care much for swimming, but he couldn't say no to a face like hers._

 _"Coming, Bridgette."_

 _The bookworm took off his shirt and set his book on top of it before wading out into the water where the surfer chick stood waiting for him. He looked around, scratching his chin in thought, causing Bridgette to cock her head,_

 _"What's wrong?"_

 _Noah turned back, "Well, the water is great, but only because you're in it." A cheesy grin lined the bookworm's face as Bridgette's sea-green eyes lit up,_

 _"Awww, that's so sweet!"_

 _"Aren't I?"_

 _Bridgette grabbed Noah by the shoulders, and pulled him closer to her. They began a passionate make-out session, but Noah couldn't help but feel like something was off._

'Why do Bridgette's lips taste like-'

He was unable to finish his thought when his eyes flew open. He looked in front of him, and in Bridgette's place was the ear of a certain geeky boy. This is what one would call a rude awakening,

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Cody stood up in surprise too, not really knowing for certain why the bookworm was screaming (although he was angry for being awakened from a very good dream about Gwen) but he ended up screaming with him,

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The two scrawny boys ran away from each other, as Duncan approached Harold with a cup of warm water and an evil grin on his face. The punk took the nerd's hand and placed it into the cup, eliciting a pool of liquid to form around Harold's crotch area. Duncan laughed,

"Aw, gross! The dude peed his pants!"

Harold woke from his slumber and saw what had been done to him. He quickly covered his pants and ran to the bathroom, hoping nobody had seen.

"I would kill for a coffee right now." Gwen said just as Chris walked in with said cup of coffee. The host took a long sip and looked around the campfire,

"What is the matter with you people?" Another sip, "Come on, fall asleep already!"

For someone three-quarters asleep, Gwen reacted very quickly. She rushed over to Chris, on her knees, and grabbed at the host's pants, begging,

"You gotta hook me up man! I'll even eat the grinds! Anything!"

As Chris played keep away with Gwen, he announced, "Alright, you seven stay with me, the rest of you, go and get a shower for heaven's sake! You stink!"

Heather, Leshawna, Trent, Gwen, Ezekiel, Eva, and Duncan all gathered around Chris as the rest of the campers all headed for the cabins. The host took another sip and addressed the camera,

"I didn't want it to come to this. I said that to Chef Hatchet last night, I said, 'Chef, I don't want it to come to this!' But darn it, these campers are tough! So, I've come up with the most boring, sleep-inducing activity I could find!"

 **Confessionals**

Gwen: Oh come on, what now? Ok, you know what? Bring it on."

 **End Confessionals**

Chris was back at his podium and produced a large book, plopping it down with a loud thud, "The History of Canada: A Pop-Up Book. Chapter One: The Beaver; National Symbol and a 'Dam' fine hat!"

The seven campers groaned as Chris continued to read.

Main Lodge

DJ sat down next to Geoff and Tyler, who were both groggily picking at their "food". Tyler spoke, without looking up,

"What do we do if we lose again?"

Geoff scowled, "Dude! Don't say that! We're so totally not gonna lose again!"

DJ looked over at the party animal, "What makes you so sure?"

Geoff grinned, "We got Zeke, Eva, and Duncan! There's no way we can lose!"

Tyler sighed, head falling onto his plate. DJ and Geoff looked over at him concerned.

Over on the opposite side of the lodge, Justin sat by his lonesome, reflecting over himself in his reflection.

 **Confessionals**

Justin: Wow, tired is not a good look for me.

 **End Confessionals**

Campfire Ground

Time: Eighty-Six Hours

Bass: One

Gophers: Two

Asleep: Owen, Izzy, Noah, Harold, DJ, Katie, Ella, Bridgette, Geoff, Beth, Lindsay, Cody, Liam, Tyler, Justin, Courtney, Leshawna, Ezekiel, Eva, Heather

"Which of course, was the precursor to the discussions leading to the War of 1812."

Only an hour had passed, and Gwen sat immobilized on her stump. It had felt like an eternity, yet already four other campers were out. Fortunately, the Gophers still had a two-one advantage.

Then Trent fell.

"Trent? Noooooo! Don't leave me!"

But it was too late, the musician fell and fell hard. The score was now one-one.

Chris looked out and smiled, "Hmm, seems like a good time for a bathroom break! Any takers?"

The Goth looked over to the punk as he held his crotch and said, "I've held it this long, sweetheart, I could go all day!"

Gwen smirked, "Yeah, but can you hold it for another ten chapters?"

Duncan's grin was wiped off of his face as he begrudgingly got up.

"You got five minutes, as long as you don't mind a little company!"

Chris pointed to a camera guy, to which Duncan replied harshly, "Fine. But stay outta the stall."

The camera man nodded and followed the punk to the bathroom. Gwen was left alone to her thoughts, and Chris, who refused to say a word to her.

She looked down at Trent, who was already looking so refreshed. Gwen smiled as the musician snored very softly, she found it quite adorable. She also found him quite adorable.

 **Confessionals**

Gwen: Do I like Trent? That is absolutely none of your business.

 **End Confessionals**

Bathroom

Carl the camera guy had been standing for four minutes, and he had been growing nervous. He knew that if Duncan didn't hurry up, Chris might get angry at one or both of them. Either way, this spelled trouble for Carl's career,

"Yo, Duncan. You in there, man?"

Carl moved forward to knock on the door, but found that it was unlocked. Pushing it open slightly, he was astonished to find the punk fast asleep on the toilet, pants down.

'This is not good.'

Campfire Ground

Chris was handed a note from someone off-camera. Upon reading it, he smiled and announced, "Well, it looks like Duncan took a snooze on the can! Which means that the winner of today's challenge is: Gwen!"

Just in time, as Gwen had chosen that exact moment to succumb to her bodily desires and fell asleep right next to Trent. Chris looked around, waiting for a response from Gwen's team, but saw that the only people still at the campfire were six of the seven he'd asked to stay with him, and they were now all asleep. Chris scowled, "Ugh, fine. Just cut to later then!"

Later

"ARGH!"

Another bag was thrown out of the Bass Cabin, forcing the Bass standing tiredly nearby to duck yet again. Eva's angered head stuck out of the window and she pointed at her team mates,

"Where is my mp3 player? One of you must have stolen it! I need my music! No one is going anywhere until I get my mp3 player back!" With another growl, she hurtled a book straight at Harold's head, who dodged it, allowing it to land in the pile with the mattress, canoe, and other miscellaneous items Eva had removed from the cabin.

Courtney looked back at the Bass as Eva went back inside, "Ok, whoever took Eva's mp3 player better give it back now before she destroys the whole camp!"

The Bass were interrupted by a certain Gopher, walking up with an innocent smile on her face, "Hey guys!" Heather looked at the pile of stuff and said, "Wow, this place is a real mess!"

Buying into it, Courtney informed Heather of what was going on, "Someone stole Eva's mp3 player."

Heather feigned shock and pulled out an mp3 from her back pocket, holding it up for the Bass to see, "You don't mean this, do you? I was wondering who it belonged to!"

Upon hearing her, Eva popped out excitedly from the cabin and ran up to Heather, who continued, "I found it by the campfire pit, you must've dropped it."

She gave the device back to Eva, who held it up and exclaimed, "Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you!"

Heather smiled, "Sure thing!" then turned around and walked away.

 **Confessionals**

Heather: Turn a team against their own members? Easiest trick in the book!

 **End Confessionals**

The fitness buff was elated at being reunited with her beloved mp3 player. Unfortunately, she noticed that her team mates were not too thrilled.

"So, sorry about that little… misunderstanding! Guess no one stole it after all!" Eva waited to see if anyone would forgive her, then relented, "Ok, maybe I overreacted a little." She admitted as she gave a weak laugh.

The Bass continued to glare at her.

Heather had already made it past the cabins when she turned around to admire her handiwork.

"Too easy!" She muttered to herself before she was stopped by a certain team mate.

"What's too easy, Heather? Being a hypocrite?"

She scowled as Liam cocked an eyebrow at her. The actor tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Or maybe you're referring to how easy it will be for me to get you voted off for strategizing with the enemy?"

Heather rolled her eyes, "Oh please, like I believe you could do that. You're bluffing."

Liam smirked, "Am I? I am an actor, after all, I do have an amazing poker face!" He leaned forward, "But do you really wanna take that chance?"

The Queen Bee scowled even harder, "What do you want?"

The actor shrugged, "I just need to know what you were doing over there. Something tells me you didn't just 'find' Eva's mp3. I know bad acting when I see it."

Heather crossed her arms, "You're right. I stole it so that she'd get made and rage out on her team mates. And you know what? She did. It worked. Eva's going home tonight, and that takes care of one of the strongest competitors in this game." She pointed a finger at Liam, "Like a certain _fish girl_ may have mentioned to you already, you need to learn how to play the game. We're not here to make friends, we're here to win. And I refuse to let anyone on my team lose because they couldn't focus, got it?"

Before waiting for an answer, Heather stormed off, leaving the actor to stew in his thoughts. When the Queen Bee was out of earshot, he smiled and whispered to himself, "Oh don't worry, Drama Queen, I'm focused. I am, after all, the Drama King!"

Campfire Pit- Killer Bass

"You've all cast your votes and made your decisions. There are only ten marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately return to the dock of shame, catch the boat of losers, and leave, and you can never come back! Ever! The first marshmallow goes to Duncan!"

The punk waited for Chris to throw him the marshmallow, on account of how tired he was. He ended up having to force himself up to get it.

"Bridgette."

The surfer stood up with great effort and walked over to get her reward.

"Courtney."

The overachiever smiled and ran up to get her prize.

"Ella."

The artist yawned and lazily shuffled forward to get a marshmallow, a faint smile on her face.

"Ezekiel."

The home school stood up, a little too fast, and fell back down. He got back up again, dusted himself off, and walked over to the plate.

"Tyler."

The jock strutted over to the plate, surprisingly without tripping, and picked up a marshmallow.

"DJ."

The gentle giant smiled happily as he got up to claim his sugary treat.

"Geoff."

The party animal grinned, grabbed his prize, and threw it in his mouth, chewing it slowly.

"Izzy."

The usually energetic redhead slithered slowly up to the podium to receive her treat.

"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening!"

Eva gulped as Courtney looked at her, confident smile resting on her face. The fitness buff stared longingly at the marshmallow, as did Harold, who was genuinely worried that he had been voted out as the weak link. The host proceeded, "The final marshmallow goes to…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Harold."

The alpha dweeb smiled and walked past Eva to collect his marshmallow.

The fitness buff watched in helpless disappointment. Chris addressed her, "Eva, the dock of shame awaits."

Eva stood up and glared back at her former team mates, "Nice. Really nice. Who needs this stupid TV show anyway?"

She stormed off past Chris, kicking him in the shin as she did.

"Ow!" He clutched his pain then turned to the ten Bass, "Have a good night sleep tonight. You're all safe."

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: See, I told you. You can't act like a total raging psychopath and then expect people to just forgive you! No matter how tough and strong and fast you are. She's never going to have a career if she doesn't get her act together.

Heather: So Eva was one of their strongest players. And now, she's gone! I am so running this game.

 **End Confessionals**

The Bass waved as the fitness buff departed,

"Bye bye, Eva!"

Eva turned to face Courtney, picked up a sharp stick and threw it at her. The brown girl ducked as it sailed over her head, "Touchy!"

Eva boarded the boat of losers, and turned to the camera as she pulled away from the dock of shame.

"I guess my temper got the better of me… again. But whatever. They just lost their fiercest competitor, I hope they realize that!"

Back at the campfire pit, the Bass had all gathered around the fire and raised their marshmallows as Courtney called out,

"To the Killer Bass! And to not ending up here again!"

* * *

 **A.N:** Disclaimer, I actually adore Eva. Eliminating her second (again) was tough for me because I think she is the most criminally underused character in the show. So, in order to assure you that I do intend on giving Eva her do-diligence, I will drop this nugget of truth: she will return for my version of season three. I do not intend on shoving her off to the side as so many people do, but for the sake of this plot, sacrifcies must be made. Sorry to any and all Eva fans.

Yeah, this chapter was pretty close to the episode, that's gonna happen for a bit, until we get to more eliminations (especially the different ones). I feel like, since very little has really changed in terms of contestants, very little would change in terms of story and such. As we progress, the story will become wildly different than the show, and if we progress into later seasons, Island should be the only one that has so many similarities. Hopefully the added dialouge and character development was a nice change of pace from the repetition. I like the moments of character interaction!

Alright, that's that. Let me know what you think! Question, comments, concerns, suggestions, anything is welcome, not everything will be adhered to!

-That1guyeveryonehates.


	4. Dodgebrawl

**A.N:** I hate this chapter. You'll see way soon. Anyway, hope you still enjoy. The actual episode is a pretty clunky one, so I tried to make it less clunky, there are major differences and also major similiarities. This is also the longest chapter so far, because writing out five rounds of dodge ball is a lot harder than it seems.

* * *

Episode 4: Dodgebrawl

"Last time on Total Drama Island! After some intensive running and eating, our twenty-three teens had to endure the most brutal challenge yet in: The Awake-o-thon! The first ever Total Drama alliance was formed thanks to crafty Heather and the Idiots Three and some crushes were formed! Liam flirted with Courtney, who flirted with danger as Eva nearly destroyed the Bass cabin looking for her mp3- which Heather stole! Nicely played, Heather, nicely played. In the end, it was the Bass who lost out thanks to Gwen's super awake-staying prowess, but the punk was saved when his team all ganged up on Eva, making the fitness buff the second camper eliminated! Who will get the boot today? Will Heather's alliance stand firm in the face of adversity? Find out right here on another exciting episode of Total Drama Island!"

Theme Song

Outside of the Main Lodge- Bass

"No, Zeke, you're not allowed to use your hands unless you're the goalie!"

"Boot, if I stand in froont of the goal, then I am, right?"

"Not if we didn't assign it to you before the game started."

"Oh, okay… so, why can't I be goalie?"

"Because, dork-wad, my ball my rules!"

"Whoa, Duncan, dude, let's just chill out and play some ball, right?"

The punk rolled his eyes as he grabbed his soccer ball from Ezekiel's hands. "Whatever, just get outta the box, party boy." Geoff backed up, following Duncan's goal kick to the other side of the makeshift field, where DJ stood in front of the other goal, made up of two tin cans symmetrical to Duncan's. The gentle giant was about to swipe it from Geoff when Tyler leaped in front of him with determination in his eyes,

"Leave it to me, dude!"

The talentless jock ran up to Geoff and kicked away at the ball, missing it and bringing his foot into Geoff's shin, sending both Bass boys to the ground. The ball flew into the air and landed in front of Ezekiel, who, not knowing fully what to do, kicked the ball with all his might. The ball sailed through the air at full speed. DJ, who had been distracted by the collision, couldn't recompose himself in time and allowed the ball to drive through the goal, eliciting a cheer from Duncan, Geoff, and Ezekiel. The loudspeaker wailed for an announcement from Chris, and Duncan shouted,

"Alright, thanks to homeschool, we win 1-0! Time to cough up, boys!"

Tyler got up in a defiant rage,

"Aw, no fair! Zeke doesn't even know how to play; we shouldn't count the own goal!"

Duncan shrugged, "Oh yeah? Tell that to FIFA, I don't make the rules, sweetheart!"

It was DJ's turn to be outraged,

"Yeah ya do! You specifically put him on our team and made yourself goalie just because it's your ball! Not to mention all the other handicaps you put on our team!"

The punk started to get defensive, "Hey, 'scuse me if I thought Tyler was divin', the guy acts worse than Neymar!"

"Don't talk about Neymar that way! That man is an icon!"

"I prefer guys who don't act like wusses, thank you. Sports are for men, Ty-bomber!"

"Oh yeah? What about softball, or girl's basketball?"

As the Bass boys proceeded to argue, the loudspeaker wailed again, possibly louder this time. Chris' voice was heard loudly through the camp, seeming a bit annoyed,

"Okay, if the Bass Boys are done deciding who's the fairest in the land, I'd like to announce today's challenge, if ya don't mind! Meet me at our brand new, ultra-deluxe, state-of-the-art Plexiglas Court in one hour! If you love sports, you're gonna love today's challenge! MacLean out!"

Tyler, DJ, and Duncan stopped midway through someone insulting the other, and now that Chris had gotten them to shut up, Geoff, ever the peace-keeper, took the opportunity to restore friendship to the Bass Bros.

"Yo, Bass Bros, why are we fighting, dudes? Remember our agreement? Our purpose in this show?"

Duncan cocked his head, "To win $100,000?"

Geoff continued, "Well, yeah, that. But we also gotta help our buddy Zeke become a real man! Or better yet, a real dude!"

DJ nodded, "Geoff's right, guys! We gotta set aside our differences for Zeke's sake, ok?"

Duncan and Tyler looked over at Ezekiel, who was absent-mindedly picking his nose. They then looked at each other. Duncan extended his hand, "I'm sorry I called you a worse actor than Neymar, dude."

Tyler took the hand and added, "And I'm sorry I got up in your face about your ball. Truce?"

"Truce."

Geoff pumped his fists in the air, "WOO-HOO! Guys rule!" He pulled in all the others for a gigantic hug, "Bass Bros for life!"

The guys cheered, but then Ezekiel interrupted, "Boot, wut aboot Harold, eh? Isn't he on our team? Shooldn't he a be a Bass Broo?"

The other four looked at each other and burst into laughter. It was Duncan who informed the homeschool,

"Ok, rule number arbitrary number: alpha geeks, like Mr. Ant Farm, aren't bros, bro. That's like, a big no-no! And I should know! I've committed a lot of big no-no's in my time!"

Before Ezekiel could respond, Geoff wrapped his arm around him,

"Listen, dude, I think it's sweet that you wanna help the guy and all, but that's not how this environment works! Think of it as an ecosystem. Guys like Harold are at the bottom, eating grass and ants and stuff. Guys like us are at the top, eating Harolds and Codys. Make sense?"

Ezekiel scratched his head, "I think so, a little, eh?"

Tyler whispered to Geoff, "Hey dude, maybe you should make a chart as a visual aid or something?"

The party animal's eyes lit up, "Dude! That is a killer idea! I'm on it!"

The Bass Bros disbanded to finish up their morning routines. The Gopher less-than-bros, however, were far less chummy.

"Noah, for the millionth time, get up. I'm not your mom, I shouldn't have to tell you this."

"Then why are you? My mother doesn't put in this much effort to remember my name."

"Fine. Whatever." Trent walked over to the door, towel and a fresh set of clothes in his hand. He looked back at the lazy bookworm, "But if you're not out of bed by the time I get back, I'll have no choice but kick your ass."

Noah closed his eyes as Trent exited the cabin. Sighing internally, he realized he probably could've handled that better. Trent was one of the few people that seemed decent enough, the least Noah could do was try to be friendly towards him.

He opened his eyes and saw Cody and Liam starring over at him. The bookworm scowled, "What the hell are you looking at?"

The actor couldn't resist the opportunity to speak, "'From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile'!"

Noah rolled his eyes, "Henry V? Really Shakespeare?"

Liam crossed his arms and puffed his chest, "It's a masterpiece."

Cody continued, "Look, Noah. You're cool and all, but you gotta start acting nicer."

The bookworm deadpanned, "Nicer?"

From seemingly nowhere, Owen appeared, "Yeah, you have a tendency of being a bit mean to people."

Noah shot back, "What is this, my intervention? Look, I don't need you guys telling my what to do, ok? I appreciate the concern, but I'm probably the smartest one here, this team would be crazy to vote me off."

Liam chuckled, "Remind me how you became class President again?"

The bookworm rolled his eyes, "Because, Mr. Kennedy, I know how to play the game: I'm technically a genius."

The tech geek stepped up to the bookworm, "Then maybe you should start playing this game! If the four of us, plus Trent and maybe even Justin, all banded together like the Bass guys, we could be unstoppable! We outnumber them and we're smarter too. But we that doesn't mean anything if you anger the other half of our team, who I'm sure wouldn't find it that difficult to get Trent and Justin to vote you off with them. We can't protect you from that, you have to help yourself too."

 **Confessionals**

Liam: Wow, I gotta hand it to Cody, the guy's memorization is incredible! Almost as good as my ability to feed lines! Dude could have a serious career after I win this thing!

Noah: Ok, so Cody might have a point. But today is a sports challenge, what am I supposed to do in a sports challenge? Participate? Please, maybe if we were competing for one million dollars instead of a hundred-thousand, I might actually push myself to be a tiny bit athletic. One-hundred-thousand won't cover my medical bill.

 **End Confessionals**

Main Lodge

The only eleven campers had entered the Main Lodge and sat down to eat. Heather, one of the eleven scanned the Gopher table, making sure no one was listening. Other than her little alliance, only Leshawna and Justin were there; both the Sister and the Model seemed too engrossed in their own gross food to even care. Smiling, Heather turned to face Katie, Lindsay, and Beth, who were also engrossed in something.

"Oh, I think you would look so pretty as a brunette!"

"You think so?"

"Absolutely! Don't you Beth?"

"I think Lindthay would look pretty no matter what!"

"Oh I know!"

"Aww, that's so sweet you guys!"

"Uhm, hello? Girls? Listen up, I have a special alliance announcement to make!"

The girls quieted down and turned to face Heather, Lindsay smiled apologetically, "Oh, sorry Heather."

The Queen Bee forced a smile, "Don't worry, we should be talking and getting along. But right now, it's time to be quiet and listen to what I have to say, got it?" The girls nodded and Heather continued, "Good. Now, first things first, we gotta set some ground rules. Rule number one: I'm the alliance captain, so I get to make the rules, ok?"

Katie cocked her head, "Uhm, why do you get to be captain?"

Heather pointed to herself proudly, "Because the alliance was my idea, savvy?"

Beth and Lindsay nodded, Katie hesitated a moment, but then nodded.

"Great! Rule number two: I can use any of your stuff without asking, but my stuff is strictly off-limits."

This stopped even Lindsay, "Wait, I don't know about that last one." Beth and Katie nodded in agreement, the latter adding,

"Yeah, that doesn't even make any sense, how does that help us win?"

Heather, who anticipated this, shrugged, "That's fine, if you don't like it, I can always change the rule. I can also find somebody else to take to the final four!"

Lindsay and Beth started panicking.

"No, I wanna stay in the alliance!" The dumb blonde declared, eliciting a nod from Beth. Heather turned to look at Katie, who was still unsure,

"Katie? What about you? Do you still think my rule is unfair?"

The best friend looked nervously at the Queen Bee, then turned to look at the dumb blonde and the wannabe. Finally, she nodded. Heather smiled, "Good choice."

 **Confessionals**

Katie: So, I really wanna be in the alliance, but Heather is really bossy! She says that she's my friend, but Sadie always let me share my opinion, even if it was the same one as hers!

 **End Confessionals**

Bridgette and Ella sat quietly to themselves, attempting to eat their meals, occasionally making small talk. Courtney looked over at the two, then looked over at DJ and Ezekiel sitting at the other end of the table. Courtney decided that it was high time for some girl bonding.

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: I decided that it was high time for some girl bonding. Bridgette and Ella seemed to be getting along, and I knew that the boys were already so chummy. I can't allow myself to be anti-social, in order to win this thing, I need to have a group of friends to count on.

 **End Confessionals**

"Hey guys, mind if I sit here?" She pointed to an empty seat next to Bridgette, who smiled calmly,

"Sure."

Courtney sat down, smile on her face and extended a hand to Ella, who looked at it nervously,

"I don't believe I've properly introduced myself; I'm Courtney!"

Slowly, the artist took the overachiever's hand loosely. Courtney gripped it firmly and shook it. If Ella had been anyone else, she'd be impressed. But she was Ella, so she ended up getting intimidated instead.

Courtney released, a politician's smile still shinning bright on her face. She turned to Bridgette and extended the same courtesy, the surfer girl took it, "Hey."

The girls returned to poking their food with their forks. Ella let loose a tiny shriek when her food grabbed her fork and ate it. The small silence was broken, once again, by Courtney,

"So, Bridgette, you're a surfer, right? How long have you been surfing for?"

Bridgette shrugged, "Ever since I could stand, I guess. I love the ocean, I may be a bit of a klutz on land, but out at sea, I feel graceful. Ya know what I mean?"

Courtney nodded, "I think I can get the idea." She turned to Ella, "What about you?"

The artist averted the overachiever's eyes, "Oh, uhm, well, I don't really swim much."

Courtney snickered, "No, I meant what do you like to do?"

Ella blushed, clearly a little embarrassed. "Oh, right. Well, I like to, uhm, draw and stuff…" she trailed off at the end but Courtney caught on,

"Oh that's cool, I'd love to see a couple of your drawings sometime if you wouldn't mind!"

Ella made no response. Bridgette, sensing the shy girl's discomfort, turned the question to Courtney,

"So, what about you? Running for Prime Minister or something?"

Courtney chuckled, "Well, I don't know if I would go that far! Maybe UN ambassador or something! But yeah, I would like to go into politics or law, my parents are lawyers, so I pretty much live in a law firm!"

Bridgette smiled, even Ella worked up the courage to look Courtney in the eye as she spoke. "Wo, that's really cool. I could never do something like that; too much work."

The overachiever smiled at the surfer girl's comment, "I don't mind it so much! Work is fun for me if it means getting closer to my dream!"

"Speaking of dreams: I have arrived!"

The three girls glanced up to see Liam striding over with a tray in his hands. The vainglorious actor flashed Courtney a large grin, causing Bridgette to snicker, Ella to look away, and Courtney to scowl.

"What do you want, Gopher boy?"

The actor opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a cough from the other side of the room. He looked over quickly and saw Heather glaring daggers at him. After a brief moment of hesitation, Liam looked back down at Courtney, smile unwavering,

"Just came to say my goodbyes."

A look of shock erupted on the overachiever's face, but was quickly replaced with one of quizzical apathy, "Goodbyes?" she smirked, "Are you voting yourself off because you realize you can't possibly win?"

Liam shook his head, "No, I would only vote for myself if I were running for Prime Minister; which I will, someday! The point is, no, I'm saying goodbye because from this moment forward, we are officially enemies."

Courtney rolled her eyes, "Uhm hello? We've been enemies since day one! You're a member of the opposition!"

"Yes, well I for one believe in bipartisanship." The actor sighed, "Unfortunately, this is not the time or the place for being the bigger person. I sincerely hope that you don't get voted off before the merge. I'd hate to miss out on our inevitable… heated debates." He added a wink for good measure. A flustered Courtney could only scoff in response. "Farewell oh fair maiden: parting is such sweet sorrow!"

With that, the actor made his way to the Gopher table, opting to sit by Justin rather than Heather. Courtney rolled her eyes, "He's such a narcissist."

Bridgette gave the overachiever a coy grin, "Mhm, wouldn't you like to stroke his ego?"

Courtney spit out her drink, "What?! Ugh, as if! He has no trouble doing that on his own."

Ella mustered up the courage to mutter, "I think she meant- "

"I know what she meant!"

By this point in time, most of the other campers had made their way inside of the Main Lodge and were now sitting down, eating quietly and occasionally swapping words with their neighbors.

Their conversations were all interrupted by an audible gasp. Heads turned to look at the person who had just entered the room: none other than the alpha nerd himself.

Harold strutted over to the Bass side of the cabin, smirking knowingly as he felt the gaze of all his peers. He felt time slowing down, imagining paparazzi engulfing him in the flash of their cameras. He felt like the coolest kid in school.

Of course, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Once he sat down, several campers began to chuckle, still starring at the alpha nerd. A feeling of unease and confusion soon replaced his confident aura. Harold looked across the table at Geoff and scowled,

"What?"

The party animal, grinning wildly, handed him a spoon, "Someone messed with your face, dude!"

Harold observed himself, everything looking perfectly fine until he landed upon the blemish located on his right cheek. He nearly dropped the spoon in shock as he let out an audible gasp, which invited more chuckles from the peanut gallery.

Someone had drawn a penis on his face.

"Idiots!" Harold muttered under his breath as the last camper was met with cheers and accolades from the Gophers.

"Hey everyone, it's Gwen!"

The aforementioned Goth girl ignored Chris' commentary and sat down at her table without getting food.

"I'm so tired, I can't feel my face." To accentuate this point, she allowed her face fall to the table. The Gophers ceased cheering, and Heather turned to face the Bass, smirking triumphantly,

"Hey fish heads! Way to kick out your strongest player! Why don't you just give up now?" Heather side-stepped to allow Courtney's oatmeal to hit Gwen's face instead of her, "Missed me!"

Courtney scowled as Chris walked to the middle of the room, "Ok campers, your next challenge begins in ten minutes! And be prepared to bring it!" Chris departed, leaving some of the campers to follow, as they had already finished their meals.

Among the last to leave were Duncan, Gwen, and Harold, the latter of which sought to confront the punk.

"Hey, Duncan, why'd you go and mess with my face?"

Duncan rolled his eyes and grabbed Harold's shirt, "I dunno, dork wad, why'd you go and steal my lighter?"

Harold raised his hands defensively, "I'd never do that! I don't even know where your lighter is!"

The punk sneered bringing his fist up near Harold's face, "Well neither do I! So until I get it back with a full apology, you can expect more than just graffiti, got that dickhead?"

The alpha nerd gulped nervously and nodded, prompting Duncan to release.

 **Confessionals**

Harold: As if I would take his stupid lighter, what would I, a top member of the Muskrat Boys, need a lighter for when I can summon fire using only moss and tree sap?

Duncan: Do I know for certain that it was Harold who took my lighter, no. But does not knowing things for certain stop people from blaming the guy with a green Mohawk and facial piercings?

 **End Confessionals**

Plexiglas Court

"Ok, where the hell did this come even come from? I swear this wasn't here before."

"Maybe the flew it in from the mainland?"

"Do you ever even think, Owen?"

The talking was interrupted by Chef's whistle. The terrible cook had swapped his classic chef's apron for a referee uniform, and now walked across the court, glaring at several campers as he made his way next to Chris. The host, who was surrounded by red rubber balls, picked one up and proceeded to explain the challenge,

"Today's challenge is the classic game of dodge ball. The first rule of dodge ball is-"

"Do not talk about dodge ball?"

Noah's comments earned him a few snickers, although Chris remained unfazed by the interruption,

"As I was saying, if you get hit with the ball you're out!"

Chris demonstrated this by throwing a ball at Courtney. The overachiever caught it, but was still annoyed by being hit with one, "You can't do that!" she exclaimed as she threw the ball back at the host.

"If you catch the ball, the thrower gets sent out and the catcher gets to bring another team member out on the court!"

"Throwing balls, gee, another mentally challenging test."

After another set of snickers and smirks, Lindsay turned to Noah and stated genuinely, "I know, right?" The dumb blonde moment earned a look of concern shared between the bookworm and Owen.

"Okay Geoff, try to hit me!" Chris tossed a ball over to the party animal, "If you are holding a ball, you may use it to deflect a bal. But, if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out!"

Lindsay, still confused, asked, "So, what do I again when the ball comes at me?"

"You dodge!" Geoff threw his ball at Chris, who deflected it with another ball causing it to strike Lindsay on the face. As she fell to the floor, Chris winced, "Oooo, you were supposed to dodge!"

Trent and Cody helped Lindsay up to her feet, "Owww, right." She rubbed her forehead, then set her arm down revealing a large bump swelling from where the ball had impacted.

"You have one minute to decide you starting line-up! Each team may start with five players, but more can join depending how many balls you manage to catch! Now go!"

Gophers

The twelve Gophers huddled together in a circle. Heather spoke up before anyone else had the chance to, "Ok, we can't get lazy. The Killer Bass are going to be trying extra hard to catch up. Who wants to start?" Owen, Leshawna, Cody and Lindsay all raised their hands. "Perfect, I'll go in with them. Who wants to go in when someone catches? Noah?"

The bookworm, book in hand, rolled his eyes, "No thanks, I'm good." Trent, Katie and Liam raised their hands, the latter adding,

"I offer myself up for-"

"No need for a monologue, Shakespeare, just be ready to go in."

Liam nodded as he joined the other Gophers on the bleachers. The five designated Gopher players took their spots as Noah bid them good luck,

"Now let's see you keeners get on out there and dodge!"

As he took a seat by Gwen and proceeded to read his book, the Bass circled around to select their starting line-up.

"Ok, I think it should be me, Tyler, Geoff, DJ, and Duncan."

"Whoa, excuse you, princess, but who died and made you queen?"

Courtney shot daggers at Duncan, "What? Afraid of a couple of balls?"

Duncan rolled his eyes, "I ain't playin' this stupid kid's game. Especially if I have to be ordered around by some type-a-hole chick like you."

Courtney was taken back by Duncan's comments, but before she could retaliate, the peace-loving surfer girl piped up,

"I'll go. Izzy, Zeke? Sit on hold?"

The crazy-girl and homeschool nodded in agreement. Bridgette looked around for any objections. Upon finding none, the Bass disbanded, the five starters taking their place on the opposite side of the court.

"Bring it on, fishies! Otherwise, winning three in a row just won't be as satisfying!"

Tyler was the first Bass to react to Heather's taunt, "Ha! You're going down! We're gonna bring the dinner to the table, and then we're gonna eat it!"

Courtney face palmed at the stupidity of Tyler's comment as Chris proceeded to start the match,

"Both teams ready? Best of five games wins! Now, let's dodge some ball!"

Chef blew his whistle and the teams began to cheer on from the sidelines as the ten campers on the court rushed to get some balls. The first throw came from Cody aiming for Tyler, the latter of which dodged with great ease. Tyler scowled and threw a ball in retaliation. Courtney almost expected it to fly and hit anything other than the target, but much to her surprise, the ball made direct impact with Cody, knocking the tech-geek out.

The Bass cheered for Tyler, who was pumping his fists in the air in celebration, "Oh yeah! How do you like that, Gophers?"

"How do you like this?"

"What?"

Before Tyler could do much else, Leshawna hurled a ball at the jock, catching him off guard and sending him off the court. Courtney rolled her eyes,

"So much for an early lead."

Now with each team down a player, the remaining eight placed a lot more focus on dodging than throwing. As a result, there wasn't much throwing going on. Finally, after five minutes of no actual game play, Courtney made a move, sending a ball directly at Owen's face. The jolly giant step-sided with great ease, and sent one of his balls onto Courtney's face. Courtney took the ball and fell to the floor, Chef's whistle signaled the end of her round one gameplay.

Geoff and DJ were almost in perfect sync with their movements, and thus, were able to secure two more outs on the Gopher side with Lindsay and Heather. Bridgette was unable to keep up in such a complex rhythm and was soon sent out by one of Leshawna's balls.

Leshawna managed to strike Geoff, just as the party animal was able to hit the loud and proud girl, sending both of them out simultaneously. It was then down to Owen for the Gophers and DJ for the Bass.

Unfortunately for the Bass, Owen had possession of all the balls.

"Sorry dude, but you've got to go down!"

And down he went. Owen launched two balls at the gentle giant with equal speed and velocity, trapping DJ in between the two. Unable to move, Owen launched a third just behind the first two, this time heading straight for DJ. The Bass' brick house was paralyzed and soon was knocked out.

The Gophers cheered triumphantly as Chef blew the whistle to signal the end of round one. The Bass returned to their earlier circle, this time with an air of defeat looming around them.

"Ok, we need to step it up people. Do we really want to be down three members? We have two more games to prove that we deserve to be here, got it?"

The Bass nodded at the end of Courtney's speech. She looked around and determined their next line-up, "Ok, I think we should have DJ and Geoff back on, but with Ezekiel, Izzy, and Duncan."

The punk scoffed, "I already told you, I'm not listening to a word you say, princess! I knid of have a thing against following orders, in case you hadn't noticed."

Courtney scowled, "Ugh, why are you even here then? If we lose, I'll have no issue voting you off!"

Tyler chimed in, "I can go in!"

Courtney rolled her eyes, "As if, you suck!"

The jock narrowed his eyes and pointed indignantly at the overachiever, "I'm sorry, how many people did you knock out last round?"

Courtney retaliated, "I'm sorry, who was the first one knocked out? Besides, I know I'm not that great, which is why I have the sense to not go back in!"

Before Tyler could retort, Harold spoke up, "I think it's my turn."

This got a response from both the jock and the overachiever, "No!"

The alpha nerd made his way back to the bench. Bridgette looked around and patted the shoulder of the artist, "I think Ella should go in."

Ella, who had said nothing all day, tried hard to weasel her way out of the situation, but Courtney wouldn't have it, "That'll work. Ella, you're up."

Meanwhile, the Gophers were adjusting their line-up.

"Owen and Leshawna are definitely up again. Let's have Liam, Katie, and Noah?"

The bookworm looked up from his book and grinned, "You know, you guys did such an awesome job on the last game, that I don't wanna mess up your mojo!"

Heather raised an eyebrow, "Fine." Then pointed to Beth, who was eagerly raising her hand.

Chef blew his whistle, and the ten campers made their way onto the court. The whistle was blown again, and the game was in play.

"Have at thee, rapscallions! Quake before my awesome might!" Liam looked over to the rest of his team and added hastily, "Oh, I mean _our_ awesome might!" He then threw a ball directly at Geoff's face. The party animal couldn't get out in time, but was saved by DJ, who caught it. The actor looked on in shock as Chef signaled for him to leave and another Bass to enter.

Tyler stood up, and high-fived DJ as he got on the court, but was quickly knocked out by Katie.

In retaliation, DJ grabbed the ball and aimed it at Katie, but she was able to catch it, sending DJ out and choosing to bring in Justin.

The male model took his place in between Beth and Katie, inadvertently distracting the two. Geoff seized on the moment and knocked both Katie and Beth out. Justin had anticipated this and took the opportunity to strike at Geoff. Unfortunately for him, the party animal saw it coming, dodged it, and threw one in retaliation. The force of the ball was enough to knock the male model onto the floor.

Unfortunately, knocking out the beauty meant awakening the beast.

"Great Gatsby that is it! Game on!"

Owen charged, stealing a ball right out of Leshawna's hand and threw it at Geoff full throttle. The ball seemed to be catching fire as it gained speed and sent Geoff flying all the way to the back wall. The impact was brutal, and it seemed to knock the wind out of the party animal.

"Geoff! Are you ok?"

Bridgette rushed over to where the party animal lay, slinging his arm around her she carried him over to the bench, with some help from DJ.

Before Izzy could react, another ball made contact with her face. The ball then landed in Ella's hands, who treated it as though it were a hot coal. Finally, the ball fell from her hands to the floor and Chef blew his whistle on her. The Bass had lost their lead, and were now placing all their hopes in Ezekiel.

The home school looked timidly up at the wrath of Owen as Heather shouted from the sidelines, "Easy out, Owen! Easy out!"

Owen grinned maliciously at Ezekiel, and launched another fast ball at him. The prairie boy picked up a ball and held it in front of his face, looking away and holding on for dear life. The balls made impact, sending Ezekiel flying backwards and Owen's ball sailing directly into Leshawna. She would be out, but that wouldn't matter so long as Owen had succeeded in knocking the ball from Ezekiel's hands.

He hadn't.

Home school stood up, ball still securely held in his hands. Owen fell to his knees and shouted to the heavens as the Bass cheered, "No! This can't be happening! Why?"

Heather called out, "We still have two more shots, Owen, get back here!"

The DJ and Tyler rushed out onto the court and lifted Ezekiel in the air as the other Bass cheered his name.

They placed the homeschool down by the others, as Courtney and Izzy came in to hug him,

"That was amazing, Zekey! You have to show Izzy how you did that!"

The home school shrugged, beside himself with glee, "I woork on a farm, eh? I goota have a strong grip!"

Courtney released him, "That was great, Ezekiel, think you can go in again?" The prairie boy nodded,

"Ya, okay!"

"Great! Who else wants to go in? Bridgette, how's Geoff?"

Bridgette looked up, "Not too good, he's out cold."

Courtney sighed, "Fine, do you mind staying out with him?" The surfer girl nodded. "Good. DJ and Izzy are up, which means that Tyler and- "

"Me, right?"

The overachiever rolled her eyes, "No, Harold, I was going to say Duncan."

The punk looked up, arms crossed, "I already told you, darling, I ain't playin'!"

Courtney poked him with her finger, "And I already told you, darling, that if we lose you'll be sent home!"

Duncan shrugged, "We won't lose."

Courtney turned to Ella, then to Harold, then back at Ella, then back at Harold. Finally, she sighed, "I'll do it myself."

Ella sat down, with a defeated Harold following suit. Over on the Gophers side, Heather was freaking out,

"I cannot believe we let the Bass beat us! We have to kick it up a notch! Noah, you are playing this round and that is final!"

The bookworm looked up, annoyed, "I'm sorry, but what makes you think that putting me in is going to increase your chances of winning? I'm doing you a favor by sitting out, I suck at sports."

Cody placed a hand on Noah's shoulder, "Don't think of it as a sport, think of it as a game! A strategy game that requires you to come up with a brilliant plan and execution!"

Noah rolled his eyes, "Oh, and I suppose you'll be paying for my medical bills, then?"

"My parents could easily afford it! Besides, look at how Bridgette reacted when Geoff got knocked out! Wouldn't you like a girl to fawn over you like that?"

The bookworm cast a lazy look over at where the surfer girl was keeping an eye on the party animal. He had to admit, he was a bit jealous of the cowboy-hat wearing blond. After thinking about both the pros and cons (and the latter category was always the fullest), Noah sighed and set his book down.

"As unconvincing as I find your Florence Nightingale argument, I'll play. But if I die because of this challenge, I'll come back to haunt every single one of you until you join me."

The Gophers ignored his comments as they sent Cody, Owen, Leshawna, and Justin out with him. As the ten campers lined up, Chef whistled to signal the start of round three.

The Gophers each grabbed a ball and looked over to Noah, who was trapped in thought. Finally, as one of Tyler's balls sailed past him, he snapped out of his thoughts and started speaking,

"Ok, Owen, I need you to go for their catchers. You have the strongest arm, if anyone can evade a catcher, it's you."

"Oh it's so on!" Owen hollered as he pinned down Tyler.

"Leshawna, Cody! Go for home school!"

The loud girl and the tech geek complied with the bookworm, sending three balls in Ezekiel's direction. The homeschool caught one of Leshawna's but fell to Cody's.

As Ezekiel switched places with Harold, Leshawna exited the court. Noah guffawed as he saw the alpha nerd take the court. Courtney yelled at him, "Back of the court, dweeb!"

Harold complied with a hung head as the overachiever swung at Cody, who dodged with ease. DJ grabbed a ball and threw it at Justin, who deflected it back at the brick house, knocking him out. Izzy picked up the ball and glared straight at the model.

"Nobody messes with Izzy's team!"

With a piercing war scream, she let the ball sail from her hands and hit Justin square in the face. The ball bounced off of the model and hit Cody in the back of the head, taking both of them out.

Noah and Owen were the only Gophers still on the court, facing down against Izzy, Courtney and Harold. Owen started sweating nervously,

"Uhm, Noah? I think we're outnumbered!"

Noah remained calm, classic smirk on his face as he picked up a ball and tossed it to Owen. "I dunno, Owen, why don't you count them for me?"

Owen got the message and smirked. He threw the ball directly at Izzy, catching her off guard.

"One!"

Noah handed him another ball which found it's way to Courtney's face with ease and speed.

"Two! And three!"

Owen grabbed Noah's final ball out of his hand and let it sail straight into Harold's chest, knocking him back to the wall. Owen cheered and pulled Noah into a bone-crunching hug as the Gophers celebrated behind them.

"WOO-HOO! We got them little buddy!"

Then came the whistle.

"Fat boy, get off the court! You're out!"

Owen released Noah, who began gasping for air, and turned over to Chef. The chef pointed over to the other side of the court where Harold held up the very ball Owen had thrown at him, eliciting cheers from the Bass.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Owen rolled over off the court, and a shocked Noah turned back to face a grinning Harold. The bookworm was quick to grab a ball and scowl at the alpha nerd, who assumed the crane fighting stance and taunted him forward.

Noah smirked, and threw the ball with all his might, which admittedly wasn't that hard. The ball landed a few feet in front of Harold, who picked it up and looked confidently at Noah.

"You have fought well, truly a worthy adversary. But now, prepare to scream, little Gopher, as you come face to face with a Killer Bass!"

Harold leaped into the air and flung the ball onto the floor. The ball bounced several times before rolling to the bookworm's feet. Noah looked down at the ball, unimpressed. Over on the bleachers, several campers groaned.

"This is gonna take a while." Courtney muttered.

And indeed it did. It took so long, in fact, that Chef blew the whistle out of impatience.

"Oh my God, how wimpy can you nerdlings get?"

"Ugh, come on Noah!" Heather spat from the sidelines.

"Sports… huh… not my forte, remember?" he panted in response.

"Just throw the damn ball!"

With great effort, Noah managed to lift another ball from the ground. He raised it slowly over his head, and chucked it with all of his might, releasing it with a sigh of relief. The ball went gliding straight at the alpha nerd, who managed to catch it with ease. The Bass cheered, until Harold slipped up and dropped the ball. The Gophers cheered as Chef blew his whistle, signaling that Harold was out.

Upon his return, Noah slumped over on the bleachers, prompting Heather to approach him and kick the back of his leg.

"Oh no. You are not going to take a break now. You're going back out there, nerd."

The bookworm raised his index finger and panted his retort,

"Don't… call me… a nerd… I'm too smart… for that…"

He collapsed back on the bleachers, but was pulled up by the Queen Bee, who shoved him back on the court. The bookworm was joined by Owen, Trent, Justin, and Liam.

The Bass were not having a similar problem.

"Okay, we all agree that Harold is an excellent dodger, right?" The Bass nodded and Courtney continued, "And we all agree that he will not do anything else for the rest of the challenge, right?"

"Hey! But I almost won the last game!"

Courtney rolled her eyes, "Yes, and we're all grateful for that. But you don't seriously think we're gonna let you play again, do you?"

It was Ezekiel who spoke up unexpectedly, "Uhm, maybe we shoould let him, eh?"

The overachiever opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a certain surfer girl,

"I don't have a problem with that."

For whatever reason, Bridgette's approval seemed to validate Ezekiel's offer as now Geoff, DJ, and Tyler were all nodding in agreement. Now with five people in favor of putting Harold in play, Courtney began to get flustered,

"But, but what about Duncan? He hasn't played once!"

The punk scoffed, "As if I'm gonna play with that dork on the court."

Bridgette scowled over at him, "Oh, don't worry Courtney, Duncan will play. Right guys?"

Geoff was the first to respond, nodding emphatically, "Uh, yeah, totally Bridge!"

The party animal's approval also meant the jock and gentle giant's approval, and the punk began to feel outnumbered as well. Not trying to get flustered, however, he merely rolled his eyes,

"Fine, whatever. Just not this round!"

It was Courtney's turn to regain dominance, "Fine. You better hope that there is another round."

Duncan looked visibly worried as the five Bass took their places on the court. Chef blew his whistle, and the game was afoot.

Owen chuckled from behind the Gopher guys, "Oh man, an all guys team! What's better than this? Guys bein' dudes!"

Justin and Liam ignored the comments and proceeded to throw their balls at the Bass, who all dodged with relative ease. Trent and Noah were quietly discussing some sort of strategy, leaving Owen al to himself.

"Oh that is it, game on!"

Owen grabbed as many balls as he could and chucked them at as many Bass as he could. Some made their targets in DJ, Geoff, and Tyler. Ezekiel and Harold were quick to dodge. The homeschool was able to catch one of Owen's balls and send it immediately hurtling at Noah, taking both the giant and the twig out of the game.

Ezekiel motioned for Geoff to return to the court, and upon reentering, Geoff was immediately struck out by Liam, who gave a small celebration and high-fived Justin.

Trent threw another ball at Ezekiel, who caught it yet again. Trent walked off as Duncan was brought on the court. The punk strode on like he owned the place, making sure that he was the new dominant force on the court,

"Back of the court, princess." He said as he shoved Harold to the back of the court. He turned to Ezekiel and handed him a ball, "You go for pretty boy, but hurl two balls at him, not one, got it homeschool?"

Ezekiel nodded and followed through on the punk's plan. A total of four balls hit Justin, knocking him down and out. Liam looked over him in shock, then gave a nervous laugh as he saw Duncan and Ezekiel prepping for another throw, this time at him.

"Guys? Let's be reasonable here! I'm sure there's a diplomatic solution to this fighting! After all, it's as _Titus Andronicus_ shows us that senseless violence is- "

The actor was interrupted by four balls to the head, laying him next to Justin and causing Chef to blow his whistle once again. The Bass cheered as the score evened out. Chris stepped up to the center, eyes wide with excitement as he announced the final round.

"Alright campers, the final round of the challenge is upon us! Now, let's send this to the lab and see what you're made of!"

Owen, Leshawna, Trent, Liam, and Katie stepped onto the Gopher side of the court while Duncan, DJ, Ezekiel, Tyler, and Geoff set up on the Bass side. Chef eyed both sides, then blew his whistle.

 **Confessionals**

Duncan: So maybe I got a little nervous that we might not win, big deal. It's not like I didn't wanna play, I just didn't wanna take orders from little miss C.I.T over there. And no way was I letting Harold play in the final round!

Tyler: Alright! All guys team! We've trained for this! Well, not dodge ball specifically, but the five of us played around with a few of our balls between episodes! **Tyler looks away thoughtfully for a second** Wait…

 **End Confessionals**

Tyler was the first to charge to the line, rallying the Bass boys as he did so,

"Let's go guys! We so got this!"

Tyler grabbed a ball and let it fly at the face of an unsuspecting actor. Liam, who was blissfully unaware of his danger, had proceeded to give an encouraging monologue to his team.

"'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and i-'"

Luckily for Liam, Tyler was a terrible aim. The ball whizzed past the actor's head who leaped around in fright. He looked to see Tyler give him a nervous wave, and glared at him, picking up a ball,

"Nobody interrupts my monologue!"

With a loud cry, Liam let loose his fury upon Tyler, the ball crashing down on the poor jock and knocking him to the ground and out of the game.

Leshawna cheered, "That's right, Shakespeare, you drop it like it's hot!"

Liam turned around with a triumphant grin and wiped his hands,

"That, my darling, was Church-"

This time, the ball made impact and knocked the actor over. Duncan had evened out the score and shrugged when Leshawna glared at him,

"What? The dude was in my way of winning!"

Without another word, he chucked a ball at Leshawna, who dodged and sent one flying straight at DJ, knocking him out.

Katie and Justin were able to evade Geoff and Ezekiel's balls, the former getting knocked out by the model. Katie grabbed on of Justin's balls and hurled it at Ezekiel, who promptly grabbed it out of the air. A demoralized Katie was replaced by Bridgette, who was soon sent back out by Justin. Retaliation from Ezekiel was swift, and a red ball soon fell the male model.

It was now two all: Leshawna and Owen versus Ezekiel and Duncan. The odds were evenly matched, and the tension could be felt from both teams. The four players were all immobilized, waiting for their opponents to strike first. No one was willing to break the silence as doing so could result in a possible misstep.

It was Owen who took that chance.

"Great fountains of sarsaparilla, I will not lose!"

And lose he did not. The jolly blonde giant's moves were swift and undetectable. He grabbed hold of a ball near the center of the court, allowing Duncan the sense of security enough to take a step forward and aim. His aim was cut short when Leshawna's ball made contact with the punk's face and Owen's ball was sent straight to Ezekiel's torso.

The same whistle that called out Duncan soon called out Owen, however, as the homeschooled teenager revealed the ball he had caught from the attack.

Leshawna, and subsequently the Gophers, waited with baited breath as Ezekiel scanned his nine team mates for one to bring out. Several Bass were pointing to Duncan, while others just sat and waited for his decision.

 **Confessionals**

Ezekiel: Maybe I shoould've joost gone with Duncan, eh? I mean, we were winning, soo it's noot like it would've mattered at all who I picked, boot…

 **End Confessionals**

"I pick Harold!"

Crickets could be heard from the Bass section as the Gophers erupted in cheers. The alpha nerd made his way over to Ezekiel and told him in his raspy voice,

"You won't regret this, Zeke, my mad skills were made for this game!"

Leshawna starred the two boys down as they took their places and waited for the opportunity to strike.

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: Do I think that Ezekiel will lose because Harold was brought back in? Of course not, that sexist pig is one of our best players at the moment. Do I think he's going home if we do lose? I'm not sure: between Ezekiel's stupidity, Duncan's bad attitude, and Harold's uselessness I can't decide which to send home!

Noah: Am I worried at all about going home? No. Why should I? Harold couldn't catch a ball that I threw, much less Leshawna.

 **End Confessionals**

The loud and proud girl was in no mood to lose, and she certainly wasn't going to let two string beans stop her. She knew that aiming for the homeschooler was dangerous thanks to his grip, but he was definitely more of a threat than the redheaded nerd boy. But she knew she needed to act fast, so she wound up her arm and let loose the ball at maximum speed.

The ball landed quite confidently in Ezekiel's grip. The prairie boy smiled as the Bass cheered. Chef raised his whistle to his lips, it seemed the Gophers had finally lost when all of a sudden,

"Yes, victory is ours!"

Harold's fist bump in the air spoiled the victory. For one, it landed less in the air and more in the ball Ezekiel was holding. Keyword: was.

Chef blew his whistle just as the ball landed on the ground. He pointed to Ezekiel and then off the court, causing the prairie boy and the rest of the Bass team to let their jaws fall open. The homeschooler trudged off the court and Leshawna narrowed her eyes at Harold, smirking,

"Well string bean, looks like this is good bye!"

Once more, the loud home girl let loose another ball at fast speed, shooting it right at Harold's face. The impact knocked him back to the wall and bounced off of his face forward. Chef was about to blow the whistle one last time as the Gophers began cheering.

But Harold's reflexes were too fast.

He lunged forward and caught the ball just as it was about to hit the floor. Unlike the last time, it stayed in his grasp.

Chef blew the whistle and motioned for Leshawna to leave the court. The Gophers all sat in stunned amazement as the Bass poured out onto the court and picked up Harold, chanting his name.

Chris cut into their celebration, "And in an unexpected moment of redemption, Harold wins it for the Killer Bass, meaning that the Screaming Gophers will have to send someone home for the first time tonight!"

The Gophers were still in shock. Now they had to vote off someone on their team, despite the fact that everyone had participated and gave it their all, it would be a difficult decision to make.

Gopher Cabin- Boys

"Well guys, it was decent knowing ya."

"Oh stuff it, bookworm, you're not going home."

Noah rolled his eyes. Laying on his bed once again, for what he saw as the last time, he did not want to go to the bonfire ceremony. Justin and Trent had already left, leaving Owen, Liam, and Cody alone with the cynic.

Cody offered him a hand, "Dude, you got at least four votes not against you! You did great today, you even won a round! Imagine if you hadn't participated at all and just made snarky comments the entire time!"

"Why would I do that?"

The tech geek shrugged, arm still extended, "Point is, nobody can vote you off for trying your best. Now come on, we have to go."

Noah sighed and grabbed Cody's hand. The wannabe Casanova pulled the bookworm up to his feet. Owen slung his arm around him and the three proceeded to leave the cabin. The actor trailed behind.

When he exited the cabin, deep in thought, he was stopped by a certain member of his team.

"Psst, over here."

He turned around to see one of the last people he wanted to see. Nevertheless, he faked a smile and asked, "Heather? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Queen Bee rolled her eyes, "Save it, Liam. I just came to warn you that you're on thin ice. If it wasn't for Noah's remarks, you'd be going home tonight."

The actor cocked an eyebrow, "Why? He participated."

Heather rolled her eyes, "Yeah, so did everyone. The point is, he's a threat. As one of the few competent people on our team, he's too smart to do whatever I tell him. He has at least five votes against him. Make it six and I'll see to it that you stay in this game for a very long time."

The actor tapped his chin thoughtfully. He wasn't Noah's biggest fan, but he didn't think the bookworm deserved to go home, especially after today's performance. Besides, by eliminating a guy, he was dwindling his potential alliance power. But still, Heather made a good point: Noah was a threat. And it was better that someone threatening went instead of the vainglorious actor.

"I'll think about it."

"Good. That's all I wanted to hear."

Campfire Pit- Screaming Gophers

"Gophers, welcome to your first ever bonfire ceremony. On this plate, you will count eleven marshmallows; a tasty summer treat that represent the elven of you fortunate enough to spend another day at camp Wawanakwa. The twelfth member of your team, however, that does not receive a marshmallow must immediately report to the dock of shame, hitch a ride on the boat of losers and leave. And you can never come back… ever! When I call your name, please come forward and collect your reward: Beth,"

The wannabe jumped out of her seat with exuberance as she was the first Gopher to receive temporary amnesty.

"Gwen,"

The Goth yawned and slowly trudged her way over to where Chris was standing.

"Katie,"

The best friend was just as excited as Beth was, and when she got her marshmallow, she stood by the wannabe, hugging her.

"Trent,"

The musician smiled and walked over beside Gwen, holding his marshmallow and smiling at her.

"Leshawna,"

The home girl stood up with an air of dignified confidence and strutted over to claim her reward.

"Heather,"

The Queen Bee too strutted over to the plate, wiping the smile off of Leshawna's face.

"Owen,"

The jolly giant pumped his fists in the air as he made his way gleefully to the marshmallow.

"Cody,"

The tech geek smiled and hurried over to get his marshmallow, giving Noah a nervous look as he stood by Trent and Owen.

"Liam,"

The vainglorious actor strutted over to claim his reward as though he were collecting an award for best performance.

"Justin,"

The male model gave everyone a picture perfect smile as he walked over to get his marshmallow.

"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening. Lindsay, you're here because frankly, you suck at dodge ball. Noah, you're here because your snarky attitude was greatly demoralizing.

The cynic rolled his eyes, "Whatever, just give Lindsay the marshmallow already."

Chris was quick to react, "What are you doing! You're ruining my tension!" Noah tried to protest but Chris shot him down, "Zip it! As I was saying, the final marshmallow goes to...

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…Lindsay."

The host said that with a hint of defeat in his stance as the dumb blonde jumped up to claim her marshmallow.

The bookworm remained seated on his log, not at all surprised with the outcome. Chris walked over to him and informed him,

"Well Noah, looks like you read ahead and figured out that you would be eliminated today. Dock of shame is that way!"

After collecting his things, Noah made his way over to the boat of losers, not bothering to look back or talk to anyone of his team mates. It was a silence that made even Heather uncomfortable.

Chris turned to the cameras, "Alright, so it wasn't the most dramatic bonfire ceremony yet! But hey, there are plenty more in store for you, so make sure to tune in next week to Total Drama Island!"

As the Gophers made their way back to their cabins, Liam was stopped by something moving in the corner of his eye. He turned to take a closer look, and saw, much to his surprise, a certain overachiever hiding behind a tree, watching the elimination ceremony. He smiled and blew a kiss over at the figure, before turning around and returning to his cabin. Courtney came out from behind the tree moments later, unsure of how to react.

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: For the record, I was doing some surveillance as to who was going home from the other team. I was not emotionally invested in anyone on the chopping block. I for one am glad that they got rid of Noah and not anyone else like Liam or… I mean, because Noah was their smartest player! One less threat in the game!

Liam: Aww, so Courtney does care after all!

 **End Confessionals**

* * *

 **A.N:** Kinda ending it on a weird note, but oh well.

Yeah, Noah's out this time again. Sucks. He's my favorite character, but I couldn't find anyone else to eliminate without drastically changing characters. Even though he still played, he was still eliminated, but by a much closer vote this time than last time. I figured the Gophers would have a tough time deciding who to send home, so the votes would be pretty scattered. Therefore, Noah only got five votes instead of the whole team. I have plans for the bookworm later, though, so don't worry all you Noah fans!

Another pretty big change is the doing away with the Tyler-Lindsay subplot. Honestly, I sorta just forgot to include it because I was so focused on the actual games that I didn't have time to write that out. If you hadn't noticed already, Tyler is going in a slightly different direction this time around, so it wasn't a priority for me to get him with Lindsay.

Also, I apologize if Duncan's motivation this chapter seems a bit forced. I don't think he would be nearly as tired as Gwen, especially if Heather wasn't so tired and she got roughly the same amount of sleep as Duncan did. Also, I wrote the whole morning scene where the guys are playing soccer before I remembered that Duncan was supposed to be cranky tired, so I just ommitted it.

Ironic, I wanted to make this chapter less clunky than the episode but it ended up just as clunky. Maybe the writers hated this one just as much as I did? Anyway, thanks for reading, hopefully chapter five won't be so difficult to write, but there's only one way to find out!

-That1guyeveryonehates.


	5. Not Quite Famous

Episode 5: Not Quite Famous

"Last time on Total Drama Island! The two teams battled it out in the classic summer camp game of dodge ball! Friendships were tested, rivalries formed, pain inflicted, and hilarity ensued! Thanks to Harold, but mostly to home school Ezekiel, the Killer Bass were able to finally dodge elimination, and the Screaming Gophers, unsure of who to send home, selected know-it-all Noah due to his not-so-charming witticisms and very little else! Can the Bass pull off another surprise win today? Doubtful! But watch anyway to find out, right here on Total Drama Island!"

Theme Song

Gopher Cabin- Guys

"Do you think he's ok?"

"I'm sure he's fine, big guy."

Owen, for the past two days, had been preoccupied with Noah's elimination, to the point where the other Gopher guys had been too. Somehow, the scrawny know-it-all managed to work his way into the chubby teen's heart, and the two had become surprisingly close. Cody felt legitimate concern that Owen's attachment might hinder his performance in the game. He and the other guys had devoted plenty of time trying to reassure their team mate.

Well, it had mostly been Cody and Trent. Liam would, on occasion, say something in attempts to cheer Owen up, but seemed too focused on glancing at Courtney and Heather. Justin, on the other hand, had barely said a word to anyone the entire time he'd been there. The only person remotely close to the model was the actor, but only because they often shared the mirror.

Justin's lack of effort in befriending the other guys didn't sit well with Cody. The fact that the male model did nothing to even show concern in Owen's mood shift was troubling, especially considering how much Owen looked up to Justin. Liam may have had a tendency to prattle on about nothing, but at least he talked.

Cody exited his thoughts and looked over to Noah's former bed where Trent sat next to a downtrodden Owen, patting the guy on the back and trying to comfort him.

"Noah wouldn't want you to sulk like this, man."

Owen sighed, causing Cody to intervene,

"Yeah, what would Noah say if he were here right now?"

Owen thought for a second, then gave a weak laugh,

"He'd probably get mad that I was on his bed, I probably would've accidentally sat on him by now!"

As the jolly giant chuckled at the thought, Trent and Cody gave each other a satisfied smile. The moment was effectively killed when a certain actor-type-guy came storming in with great agility.

"Owen! Look what I found!"

Liam held up a book to show to his team mate, who gasped,

"Is that one of Noah's books? Where did you find it?"

The actor jerked a thumb behind him and gave a proud grin,

"Found it in the boathouse, our favorite bookworm must've gone there a lot, left this by accident!"

Owen took the book and looked at it,

" _Beowulf._ It's pretty small looking."

Trent smiled,

"Should be an easy read, huh buddy?"

Owen's eyes went wide at the implication,

"Me read one of Noah's books? I can't do that! Just touching it is sacrilege!" Noticing the book was still in his hand, he shrieked and dropped it to the floor. "Noah would be so furious to discover that we stole one of his books!"

Cody picked it up and inspected it, "We didn't steal it, Owen, he left it here. Besides, I think he would want you to read it!"

Owen looked nervously at the book, before taking it out of the tech geek's hands and smiling, "Maybe you're right, Cody! Noah's always talking about how he wished I read more books so I could be less unliterate!"

The other Gopher boys chose to ignore their team mate's improper grammar. Finally, Cody spoke up,

"Hey, does anyone wanna come get breakfast with me? Our challenge should be starting soon, and as bad as Chef's cooking is, food is food."

Trent nodded in agreement, "Sure, lemme just put a shirt on real quick."

Liam shook his head, "Alas, I have just arrived from the mess hall, and cannot bring myself to enter when I know that she sits there, waiting for me to lose myself in her eyes. Tormenting me with her very existence as our love is forbidden. Oh, like Romeo, my heart doth weep for my brunette Juliet!"

Ignoring the actor's hammy performance, Cody turned to Owen, asking almost rhetorically, "You coming buddy?"

"No thanks."

There was an audible gasp among the three other Gopher boys, followed by incredulous stares and uncomfortable silence. Owen looked between his three team mates, and began nervously tapping his fingers, "What?"

The musician, who had just donned his shirt, continued to stare at his giant friend, "Are you sure you're feeling ok, dude?"

"Yeah," Cody added, "I know you miss Noah and all, but I didn't think it was that serious!"

Liam flourished his hand to his head dramatically, "Oh, the pain of loss, heartbreak, and departure! Weep with me, my friend! Let us mourn together!"

Owen looked down at the book, "I just want to start reading this, for Noah's sake; I don't wanna get food all over it."

The three Gopher boys looked amongst each other, then back to Owen. Trent shrugged, still a bit concerned however, "Alright, suit yourself man. Let's go Cody."

Main Lodge

Geoff sat across the table from DJ, who was calmly munching down on Chef's poor excuse for 'bacon and eggs'; the fact that the gentle giant was crunching on eggs should say something about the quality of Chef Hatchet's cooking.

Nevertheless, DJ insisted on attempting to stomach the food, choking down every single bite he fed himself.

 **Confessional**

DJ: Yeah, Chef's food is awful. But the man cooked for us, the least we can do is eat it. It's like my momma always told me: "Finish your plate you little ingrate!" **DJ scratches his chin thoughtfully** Then again, momma at least knew how to cook.

 **End Confessionals**

Unlike his physically gifted friend, Geoff refused to eat his food. The party animal was lost in thought, giving his food a look of confusion and uncertainty. DJ was quick to catch on that it wasn't the food on Geoff's mind.

"Hey, everythin' alright man?"

The party animal snapped out of his trance and looked at DJ,

"What? Oh, uh, I dunno dude. I feel kinda… weird."

"Whattya mean?"

Geoff scratched the back of his head,

"Just, like, what Zeke was sayin about Harold an' stuff. Do you think we're bein' mean by excludin' him?"

DJ though for a second, then rubbed the back of his head,

"Yeah, I get whatcha mean. But, Duncan has a point too, right? Guys like Harold don't fit in with guys like us."

The party animal looked back at his food,

"Maybe, but still… Oh! Hey Bridge!"

Geoff was pulled out of his reflection upon the arrival of a certain surfer enthusiast and her artist friend. Bridgette waved warmly back at the party animal who beckoned her over to sit by him. She took the invitation, sitting next to Geoff and across from Ella, who sat next to DJ.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nothin' much, ya know? Just talkin', bro-man to bro-man."

The party animal motioned to DJ, who waved at Bridgette.

"Hey Bridgette!"

"Hey DJ." The surfer girl returned the gesture casually, then looked over at Ella, who had already started wolfing down her meal. The blonde smiled at the scene, knowing full well that her friend was simply trying to get out of talking to the boys.

"Hey Ella, since when did you become such a food enthusiast?"

The artist stopped shoveling the 'eggs' into her mouth and looked up nervously at her blonde friend. She gulped the food down from her mouth and twirled her fork around the plate absentmindedly.

"Uhm… I really like… whatever these are…"

Ella looked nervously at the other three Bass, before slowly taking another bite of her food.

 **Confessional**

Ella: **sighs** I'm not very good at talking to people, in case you hadn't noticed that by now.

 **End Confessional**

As Ella's face began to droop, Geoff chimed in by chuckling,

"Whoa, dude, I didn't even realize it! What _are_ those?"

The party animal began poking his food with his fork, just like Ella, although with a little more enthusiasm. DJ laughed,

"I think there supposed to be eggs, but it looks like it came outta the wrong chicken hole, know what I'm sayin'?"

He nudged Ella, who gave a small giggle. Geoff and Bridgette joined in on the laughter as a fifth person sat down beside them, a bit worried,

"Did you say there was a whole chicken?"

The four Bass turned to see their team mate Tyler looking around the room frantically. DJ cocked his head,

"No man, I said 'hole' like 'hoe' but with an 'L' in it."

"You mean like Courtney?"

Duncan sat on the seat opposite of Tyler. Geoff fist-bumped the punk on his clever word play, which earned him a scowl from Bridgette. The talentless jock, however, was still not at ease,

"Wait, there's a hole with chickens in it?"

Bridgette gave him a soothing smile, "No, Tyler, it was just a joke DJ was telling about the food."

Tyler finally made eye contact with the surfer, then turned to DJ, then to his food. "Oh."

Duncan scoffed, "Dude, quit bein' such a chicken. You make DJ look like a hardened war vet."

As DJ scowled at the insult, Tyler tensed up yet again,

"Why do you keep insisting that there are chickens here?"

The punk raised his eyebrow, catching on slightly to what was going on, "Don't tell me you're scared of…CHICKENS?!"

Tyler let loose a horrific scream as Duncan brandished one of the rubber chicken hats from the first episode in front of the jock. The punk started laughing uproariously at the sight. Even Geoff let a chuckle escape his grasp, before taking one scowl from Bridgette and shutting up entirely. Tyler had actually gotten so scared that he had leapt from his seat into the arms of DJ, who was also shooting Duncan a death glare,

"Dude, what'd ya do that for? Not cool man!"

Duncan wiped a tear from his eye,

"Oh come on, dude! That was hilarious! The guy is chicken for chickens!"

Bridgette chimed in, hands on her hips,

"Knock it off Duncan. Exploiting someone's fears isn't funny!"

"Oh come on, lighten up! Geoff thought it was funny, right dude?"

Before the party animal could respond, DJ and Bridgette gave him a look that implied that he might want to choose his words carefully. He did,

"Uhm, maybe not?"

The punk looked shocked. Geoff had always thought everything he did was funny, and now he was siding against him. He was quick to look around for support, turning to see a certain artist trying hard to not be noticed by anyone.

"What about you, Ella? You have to admit the look on Tyler's face was priceless, right?"

Ella tensed up, but only Bridgette saw the artist blushing. At first, the surfer thought it was at the mention of Tyler's name, knowing full well the artist's feelings for him. Then she saw that Ella's cheeks were growing redder as a certain punk continued to look at her, waiting for a response.

"Uh, hello? Earth to cat-tongue, I'm speaking to you!"

Ella blinked several times, then looked uncomfortably down at her food,

"Oh, uhm, I guess?" Duncan smirked, causing Tyler to frown more. Ella noticed and quickly added, "Not?" It was then Tyler's turn to smirk and Duncan's to frown. Upon seeing this trade off, Ella grew more flustered and stammered, "Uhm, I mean, I don't know?"

Before anyone could react, the artist sunk lower in her seat and proceeded to shovel more food into her mouth, completely zoning out of the conversation.

The punk got up in a huff, "Whatever. You guys don't appreciate true comedy.

 **Confessional**

Bridgette: I think Ella might have more than just one crush on this island!

 **End Confessionals**

The loudspeaker blared before anyone else could speak.

"Alright campers, enough with the eating and sleeping! It's time to show us what you're made of! Meet me at our brand new, deluxe, state-of-the-art, outdoor amphitheater in five minutes for today's challenge!"

Amphitheater

"Are we gonna see a musical? I love musicals! Especially the ones with singing and dancing!"

As people rolled their eyes at Lindsay's blonde-ness, her thespian team mate leaped his way onto the bleacher in front of hers.

"Did you say you loved musicals? No way! I love musicals!"

Lindsay's eyes widened,

"Oh my gosh, really? Do you like the ones with or without singing and dancing?"

Liam, classic smile unwavering, slid his sunglasses down and looked at Lindsay's big blue eyes with his own hazel ones,

"You do know that all musicals have singing and dancing, right Lindsay?"

The blonde giggled, "Oh silly, Lime! I thought you would know better, since you're an actor! Some musicals don't have singing and dancing!"

Liam's smile faded slightly, "Those are called plays, Lindsay."

"Plays? You mean like sports? I only do cheer."

As the vainglorious actor attempted to explain himself to the dumb blonde, Trent waved over from several bleachers in front to a certain Goth girl.

"Gwen, saved you a seat!"

"Thanks."

Gwen smiled and sat next to the musician, who in turn leaned backward and gave her a cool smile. Cody walked up next to Trent, and attempted to copy him, only to lean back a little too far and getting stuck in between the bleachers.

Chris then walked out to down center stage of what appeared to be a very old, cheap, not-so-state-of-the-art, outdoor amphitheater as he announced,

"Welcome to our brand new, deluxe, state-of-the-art, outdoor amphitheater! Ok, today's challenge is a summer camp favorite: a talent contest! Each team has eight hours to pick the three most talented campers. These three will represent their team in the show tonight! Sing, dance, juggle: anything goes as long as it's legal!"

At the last requirement Duncan snapped his fingers. The host, expecting this, continued without much hesitation

"You'll be judged by our resident talent scout, former DJ, BJ, and rap legend: Grand Master Chef, who will show his approval via the Chef-O-Meter!"

The host pointed above his head at what was still just sky. Some of the more observant campers realized that there would likely be a little clip art of sorts shown on the screen after editing. The other, less intelligent campers, just sat in bewilderment.

"The team that loses will send one camper home tonight! Good luck!"

As Chris departed the stage, the two teams dispersed to the cabins to acquire whatever they needed before each team held tryouts. The Gophers ended up staying by the cabins as the Bass returned to the amphitheater.

Heather grabbed a whistle, seemingly from nowhere, and blew it to signal the attention of her team, most of whom gathered on the steps leading to their cabin.

"Ok, I'm the team captain so here's how this is going to work!"

Before she could explain how this was going to work, Gwen stood up and interrupted,

"Wait, who said you were team captain?"

Lindsay was more than happy to answer her question,

"She did, just now!"

Before Gwen could proceed, Heather picked up from Lindsay,

"Beth, Katie, Lindsay, and I took a vote, and I won!"

"Threatening them to vote for you isn't exactly democratic." Gwen shot back with the snark of her former, cynical team mate. Before Heather could respond, a certain musician arrived on the scene carrying a muffin in his hand. Gwen, who was holding her black diary, turned around and blushed as Trent offered it to her,

"Hey, snagged you an extra muffin."

Sensing an opportunity, the Queen Bee directed her attention to Trent,

"Trent, you're cool with me leading this project, aren't you?"

Not wanting to be in the opposition, the musician replied, "Right on, go for it."

"Good! To make things fair, Beth, Lindsay, and Katie will be the judges, cool?"

Gwen scoffed at the obviously stacked jury, "Whatever."

While the Gophers prepared themselves by the cabins, the Bass had already begun auditioning, going, as Courtney suggested, in alphabetical order.

"So, Bridgette, besides surfing, anything you can do?"

"I can stand on my hands for twenty minutes!"

This earned several whoops from the guys. However, Courtney looked less than impressed,

"Are you sure that counts as a talent?"

Bridgette shrugged, "I mean, if anyone else has something better, I don't mind."

The C.I.T smiled, "Good, I believe it's my turn, then!"

Before anyone could say anything, she stood up and whipped out an expensive looking violin. Placing it to her chin, she played a few lines of an unfamiliar, yet beautifully enchanting melody that placed somewhat of a trance over several of the more susceptible Bass. When she had finished, the whole team applauded, and Courtney bowed gracefully.

"Thank you! Alright, who's next?"

As DJ got up to take his turn, the Gophers stood and watched in anticipation as Owen chugged a two-liter bottle of unidentifiable soda. Trent had taken a seat on the opposite side of Gwen to Cody, but the Tech Geek was too enamored with Owen's presentation that he failed to listen in on the Goth and musician's conversation.

"Hey, are you goin' to audition?"

Gwen scoffed, "Doubtful." But quickly added, with a slight blush, "But, you should be in this though. I heard you the other night, by the dock, you're really good."

As Heather's attention turned to the two, it was quickly drawn back to the jolly giant, who had finished off the bottle and tossed it to the side. Then, in a tremendous burst of sound, he let loose a barely interpretable belch,

"ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!"

As Owen's burp subsided, Trent, Cody, Liam, and Justin all stood up and pointed at the jolly giant in amazement, cheering words of encouragement and praise. Katie, Beth, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, and Leshawna, on the other hand, did not seem too impressed, but rather disgusted at the display of sound and smell.

With the backing of the female Gophers, Heather stormed up to Owen with revolt in her face,

"There is no way we're letting you do that!"

The males, however, were not quick to allow Heather to walk all over the impressive feat. Trent stood by the jolly giant's side,

"Aw, come on! Do you know how hard it is to burp the entire alphabet in one go?"

Even Liam patted Owen on the back, "This man has one of the most enviable diaphragms I have ever had the pleasure of encountering!"

Heather scowled, "No way, this act is far too gross!"

Cody wouldn't hear it, "I think we should at least consider it! Besides, you're not a judge, so you can't decide this!" Then, in a clever maneuver, he turned to Justin and asked, "Who are the judges, Justin?" The male model looked over to Cody, with an arched eyebrow.

 **Confessionals**

Cody: I knew that Justin was impressed by Owen's burping, and I also know of his "manly powers" of persuasion. So, all I had to do was get him to put Lindsay, Beth, and Katie in a trance, and Owen would get the chance to shine!

Justin: It was at that moment that I suddenly realized what my condoning of burping would mean for my image. The girls hate it, and I can't have that hatred pouring over on me.

 **End Confessionals**

Justin smiled, "Well, I know that I'm not, but if I was, I certainly wouldn't vote for Owen's disgusting little outburst," he then added flippantly, "no offense man."

Owen smiled weakly, "Oh, uh, none taken!"

Cody's mouth dropped as Lindsay, Katie, and Beth all proceeded to vote no on Owen. As this issue was finally settled, DJ's ribbon dance had also come to a graceful yet masculine end.

The Bass clapped, with Tyler and Geoff approaching their muscular friend,

"Dude, that was awesome, man!"

"Yeah, wicked flexibility! Even I can't move like that!"

 **Confessional**

Tyler: As part of our athletic training, coach makes us take a dance class, so that we can work on our flexibility and coordination. Most of the guys take hip hop; I wanted to take ballet, but they all told me it wasn't "manly" enough. Well, I hope DJ's dance shows them that their more to masculinity than doin' dude stuff!

 **End Confessional**

"That was, actually pretty good, DJ! You're on the list! Who's next?" Courtney looked around, eyes falling on a certain juvenile delinquent who was carving something into a nearby tree. "Duncan, you're up."

"Alright, wait for it, and, behold! I call it: 'The Skull'!"

The punk took a step back and revealed a poorly etched skull with a Mohawk on top of it. The other Bass looked at it, unsure of whether or not to take it seriously.

"Wut is it, eh?"

Duncan rolled his eyes, "It's art, homeschool! A form of self expression I happen to excel at!"

"That's not art, that is vandalism! And not even very good vandalism, I might add!"

"No, princess, you might not add because you just don't get it!"

"Just like you don't get a part in the talent show, princess!"

Duncan raised his eyebrow, crossed his arms, and smirked, "Aw, gee, that's too bad! I was so looking forward to participating in this lame talent show!"

Courtney's scowl somehow got deeper, as Duncan proceeded to walk calmly away. With the delinquent gone, the Bass continued their auditions with Ella, who shyly sat off in the corner, sketching away in her notepad. Courtney and Bridgette approached her cautiously, the former trying to get a glimpse of the drawing.

"Hey, Ella, whatcha drawing there?"

The artist gulped and looked shyly up at the C.I.T.

"Uhm, nothing, really…"

Bridgette, who was being less intrusive, asked calmly,

"Mind sharing it with us?"

Slowly, Ella turned her pad over and revealed a picture of two young, familiar boys of roughly sixteen years. However, though still very recognizable, the pictures accentuated a lot of features. For instance, Tyler's chin was a lot more defined and Duncan's arms were far more chiseled than the other two girls noticed from their real-life counterparts. Upon seeing the pictures, Courtney and Bridgette giggled, causing Ella to blush slightly.

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: Ok, those were really good drawings! But do you see the way that Duncan looked in it? He was like a Greek God!

Bridgette: Well, if that doesn't confirm my suspicions, I don't know what will!

Ella: Ok, so I like Tyler… and Duncan. Can you blame me? I guess I'm lucky in a way; they're both so out of my league that I'll never have to choose between the two. **Ella lets loose a sigh of defeat**

 **End Confessionals**

While Ella convinced the Bass not to force her to go on stage, the Gophers had finished watching Katie and Lindsay do some form of interpretive dance, and were moving on to Liam.

"Hello, my name is Eliam Ricardo Josue Suarez de la Cruz, and I shall be performing "Oh What A Circus" from Evita, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice!"

As the actor sang in a surprisingly convincing, smooth yet robust Argentinean accent, most of the Gophers sat respectfully and enjoyed the performance. A certain Queen Bee, however, seemed to be thinking elsewhere.

 **Confessionals**

Heather: Yes, Liam is very talented. It would be wise of us to have him perform, since there probably aren't very many Bass who can hold a candle to him. But, the problem with him competing is, if we do win, he'll likely get a much stronger base within the team, which is not good. He's already the biggest threat to me on this team, in order to level him out, I need us to lose so I can eliminate his most loyal followers.

Liam: Even Heather has to admit I have talent! She'd be stupid to shoot me down!

 **End Confessionals**

"I just think we need to explore all of our options first before we decide that Liam is performing."

"ARE YOU ACTUALLY INSANE?" The actor had never been seen this full of rage before, he was practically pulling out his hair in frustration with Heather's suggestion. However, he was not alone in confusion,

"I think we can all agree that he's really good! Even if there are others with talent, we have three choices, and he could easily be one of them!"

Cody's defense was solid, and it invited nods from Trent, Leshawna, Owen, and even Lindsay and Katie. Beth, who was being fed lines by Heather, was more adamant in defending the Queen Bee,

"I jutht think itsth fairer to wait!"

At this, Gwen stood up, "I've had enough puppet dictatorship for one day. I'm going swimming."

As the Goth stood up, the actor puffed out his chest and announced, "Yes, I too shall take a swim!" Upon looking at Gwen's unamused face, he sputtered and quickly re-announced, "I mean, uh, I'll be taking a walk, in the, uh, woods! Very, very far away from the lake so I will not be swimming at all!"

Liam gave a weak laugh as Gwen rolled her eyes and walked away. With the Goth's departure, the actor took his leave, taking with him Cody and Owen. Following shortly thereafter were Trent and Leshawna, who changed into their bathing suits to meet up with Gwen. With the departure of half the team, the remaining five sat in a somewhat awkward silence.

 **Confessionals**

Gwen: Was it wrong of me to leave? I don't know, maybe. But it was definitely wrong of Heather to tell Liam he couldn't perform, as if we have anyone else on our team with that amount of experience! If we lose, I hope she goes home.

Justin: Liam is a great guy, the two of us get along beautifully. I don't talk to him, he doesn't talk to me, I consider him my greatest friend on this island. Heather is some kind of nuts to tell him he can't perform. I swear, if he starts complaining to me while we're doing our hair, I'm voting off Heather.

Heather: Gwen is causing a commotion, what she did today cannot fly. I already can't stand weird Goth girl, but now if she's going to throw a power wrench into my hold on this team, she's got another think coming.

 **End Confessionals**

While the Gophers cooled down from their schism, the Bass were thriving as a unit. As Geoff wrapped up his skateboarding tricks, Harold stepped forward a bit cautiously, looking expectantly at Courtney. The C.I.T scowled at his hesitation,

"What are you waiting for, Harold?"

"I dunno, I thought you were gonna yell at me and tell me I can't audition and stuff."

"Why would I do that?"

"It's just that… you're kinda mean sometimes."

"Just go before I change my mind!"

And go Harold did, blowing his audience away with his surprisingly superior beat-boxing skills. He received several fist-bumps and high-fives from the Bass Bros sans Duncan, who all were trying to make a conscious effort to be nicer to Harold on account of Ezekiel. When Harold finished, Izzy took the spotlight, showing off an odd yet somewhat sexy dance set to traditional Indian music.

"I call this the dance of the rattlesnake! Ooooooaaaaaaa! Look into my eyes, what do ya see?" She continued that way for a solid seven minutes, rolling and twisting her body in ways that startled several of her team mates, and seemed to arouse others.

For starters, she had chosen Tyler as her main target, snaking around him, occasionally brushing up against him with her arms, hands, and even her butt once. The jock seemed a bit perplexed, but did very little to stop her from dancing around him.

She also made moves on Geoff, who got a little too into it at one point before he reminded himself he was crushing on Bridgette, DJ, who was very uncomfortable with the new interaction, Ezekiel, who attempted to dance with her but didn't quite know how, and even Courtney, who effectively ended Izzy's performance.

Last up was Tyler, who, out of all the things he could have done, chose to show off his yo-yo skills. Which, for a total klutz at everything else, wasn't all that bad. Of course, only Ella was super into the whole act, whereas DJ, Geoff, and Bridgette were giving their polite attention. Ezekiel, once again attempted to give his undivided attention to the jock, but soon found he had to divide it as Izzy kept trying to share bizarre stories with him.

When that was wrapped up (as wrapped up as Tyler was in his yo-yo), the Bass convened sans Duncan to decide their line-up.

"So, we all agree that I should go in with my violin, that leaves two spots open. Bridgette, no offense, doesn't really have one, and Ella is too scared to go on stage, so that means two of you boys will have to go."

As Ella stepped back so as to not have to be noticed again, Izzy stepped forward,

"Hey, so, like, what about me?"

Geoff and Tyler gave each other a slight grin and a fist-bump while Ezekiel and DJ shifted around uncomfortably. Courtney was about to say something when she was interrupted by Bridgette,

"We just think that between our two dancers, DJ has slightly more experience, and we can't have two dancers, can we?"

Izzy beamed and shrugged, "No, I guess not! Since I'm not dancing in the talent show, though, can I go dance for the woodland creatures and demonic spirits over in the forest?"

The Bass looked between each other, not knowing how to react. Bridgette gave an uneasy smile, "Uhm, sure?"

As the crazy redhead pumped her fists in triumph and stalked away, the remaining eight Bass continued to discuss their options.

"So, we are including DJ, then?"

Courtney bit her lip, "I guess so, we don't want to risk Izzy thinking we lied to her." She quickly added, "Not that you weren't good, DJ!"

The gentle giant, still in his leotard, beamed, "It's all good! As long as I get to perform!"

"Great, that leaves us with Ezekiel, Harold, and Geoff."

"And me!"

"And Tyler."

Tyler made a small motion of success as though he thought his name was said because they were seriously considering putting him in. The jock soon discovered that was not the case, and joined Ezekiel and Geoff in the rejects seat when it was decided that Harold's impressive beat-boxing was too good an opportunity to pass up (although Courtney had made a strong case for Geoff, or rather against Harold).

As the Bass finally agreed on their lineup and disbanded to do their own things, the Gophers were already enjoying their time away from each other.

One person who was more delighted than anyone to be rid of her annoying team was none other than Goth girl Gwen, who sought solace, initially alone by the dock, soon warmed up to the idea of being in the company of Leshawna, who she found to be the most tolerable person on her team.

"I'm telling you, it's like the universe stuck me here on this island just for the sole purpose of tormenting me, you feel?"

"Ooo girl, I feel you!" Leshawna then gave a coy grin and nudged the pasty girl playfully in the side, "But don't tell me you don't find that white boy, Trent, fine!"

Gwen blushed at the mention of the guitarist's name, causing Gwen to giggle,

"He's cute, but, not really my type."

Leshawna cocked an eyebrow, "Ain't nobody on this island my type, but don't mean I can't find any of the boys fine as Hell! Too bad all the cute boys are on the other team!"

Gwen smiled, "Liam and Justin aren't so bad, they're just way too conceited for their own good."

"Justin can be as conceited as the devil himself and I wouldn't mind, he is just as hot!"

Gwen tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear and contemplated her time on the island so far. It hadn't been perfect, but she had tried to make the most of it. So far, Leshawna and Trent were the only two she felt she could rely on, with the loud girl being a later addition. She was, however, still very skeptical of the rest of her team mates.

"I think Heather's up to something."

"What gave you that idea?" Leshawna asked sarcastically. Gwen shrugged,

"It's just that, the way that she talked to Liam really irked me. Like, he's lived his entire life as a performer, why shouldn't he be in this challenge?"

Leshawna rolled her eyes, "Oh please, like she ain't gonna let him! She may be a ratchet skank, but she wants to win too!"

Gwen gave a small chuckle before turning back to look at the horizon. She allowed herself to drift away in a boat made of her collective thoughts and dreams. Reflecting on her home life and how that might change after this show. She thought of the multiple different scenarios in which Leshawna might humorously hook up with any of the "cute boys" from the other team, or even how she could end up with Justin or Liam. The Goth also thought of her own romantic destiny, where that path might take her. She might end up, miraculously, with Trent in a love that would transcend the tabloid fame of this show. Or she could end up with anyone else on or off the island, or no one at all. The possibilities in her future were limitless, and she had no way of predicting them.

This was very similar to her inability to predict what was conspiring against her in the present as well. For not too far away from where she sat, four unassuming teenage girls plotted to unleash a horror upon her akin to no other.

"But isn't it, like, mean to steal other girls' diaries?"

"Katie, if we worried all the time about what's mean and what isn't, we wouldn't be able to get anything done, now would we?"

Katie blinked, still looking uncertain, "I guess not."

Heather smiled, "Good, glad you agree! Now this shouldn't be too terribly difficult: Lindsay and Beth, I want you two to stand outside and keep a watch out for Gwen or Leshawna, make sure to notify me and Katie if you see them coming, got it?"

Beth nodded obediently, as did Lindsay, who also added a raised hand.

"Lindsay?"

"Uhm, what if any of the Bass girls comes?"

"They have a different cabin, over there. They're not coming over here."

"Oh, right!"

Heather proceeded, "Katie, let's go. We still have three hours left until the challenge, so we shouldn't have to worry about getting caught. But we still shouldn't lolly-gag, got it?"

As Katie nodded, Lindsay raised her hand again, this time a bit more excitedly.

"Lindsay?"

"Where did you get a lollipop, I love lollipops!"

The Queen Bee refused to dignify the question with an answer and proceeded inside the girls' side of the cabin with Katie. Once inside, the two girls split up, Heather searching through the cabinet drawers and Katie going through Gwen's luggage.

"This feels wrong, Heather."

"More wrong than your best friend getting eliminated in the first episode?"

Katie sighed at the mention of her best female friend for life, but otherwise kept quiet.

Meanwhile, outside, Lindsay and Beth prattled away about the latest fashion trends.

"Tho, thtripes are in now?"

"Uh-huh! But only vertical ones, horizontal stripes just make you look fat and sad!"

"Wow! I gueth I shthould buy more vertical thtripes then!"

"You totally should, they would look so cute on you! Don't you think so, Gwen?"

Before the Goth could respond, the wannabe and the dumb blonde gave each other a look of surprise as the dumb blonde announced,

"Gwen! Wow! What are you doing here?"

Beth added, "Yeah Gwen, I thought you were thwimming, _Gwen!?_ "

As the Goth cocked an eyebrow at the odd display between the two insufferably stupid Gopher girls outside the cabin, inside the cabin Katie and Heather began to panic, searching throw the inside much more frantically than before. Finally, as Katie located it under Gwen's pillow and tucked it behind her, Gwen was heard stepping closer and closer to the door,

"What are you two even doing?"

"We're practicing our, uh, ti-kwan-chi!"

"Yeah, it'th all the rage in Francth!"

"Oh my gosh, you want to go to France too? We should totally go together!"

"Oh my goth, really?"

"Totes! I'll buy you the cutest vertical striped shirts!"

"Ok, can you please just move? I'm trying to-"

"Gwen! Back so soon?"

The Goth, the dumb blonde, and the wannabe all turned around to see the Queen Bee and the best friend walking out the door to the girls' cabin. The two newcomers wore very forced smiles, which would have suggested to anyone observant enough that they were up to something. Unfortunately, Gwen wasn't feeling particularly observant at the moment, just annoyed.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Before Heather could say anything, Katie surprisingly answered,

"We were just discussing who we wanted to perform in the talent show!"

"We were?"

Katie nodded, and gave Lindsay a pleading glare, "Yes, Lindsay, we were!"

Not getting it completely, Lindsay clapped cheerfully, "Eeeeee! Who's in it?"

Gwen, sensing that Katie might be lying, smirked and crossed her arms, "Yeah, Katie, who? I'm dying to know!"

Beth and Lindsay looked eagerly at the best friend, who received a glare of caution from Heather. Finally, Katie nervously announced her fake announcement,

"Uhhh, Beth, Trent, and Justin!"

 **Confessionals**

Gwen: Beth?!

Heather: Trent?!

Justin: **winks at himself in his mirror**

 **End Confessionals**

Katie forced a more confident smile and nodded, "Yep! That's who we chose!"

Gwen cocked an eyebrow, but shrugged nevertheless and pushed her way through to the cabin without another word. When the Goth girl had left, Heather turned to Katie and pointed a finger sternly at her,

"If we lose because of your decision, you're going home, got it? Don't ever do anything without me telling you first!" Before Katie could react, Heather's mood shifted to a more pleasant tone, "But props to you for thinking so quickly on your feet, I'm genuinely impressed."

The mean girl turned around and walked away, diary in tow, leaving her three pawns to linger on the porch. Lindsay, of course, broke the silence,

"So, what're we doing again?"

Deep in the woods

"Gentlemen, I cannot recall anyone who has treated me with such blatant disrespect and insensitivity than that second rate, stereotypical mean girl!"

As the actor prattled on about the things he hated about Heather, Cody and Trent, unbeknownst to the other, drifted away in thought about the same person. It didn't take long before Trent looked up and stopped in shock, motioning for the tech geek to do the same,

"Hey, dude, do you see Liam or Owen anywhere?"

Cody stopped and looked around thoroughly, coming to the same conclusion his musical compatriot did. The wannabe ladies' man chuckled,

"Well, guess that's what I get for day dreaming about a girl, huh?"

Trent smirked as the two continued to walk,

"A girl, huh? Like, on this island?"

"Maybe… is that weird? I mean, we just met them, like, a week ago."

The musician shook his head, "Nah dude, I feel ya. It's like, when you meet that special someone, you kinda know right away, right?"

Cody nodded, "Definitely, although, I'll admit, I've always found it difficult with the ladies."

Trent cocked a knowing eyebrow, "Oh really?"

Cody, partially oblivious partially aware nodded, "It might shock you, considering what a Casanova I am!"

The musician laughed, "But I know what you mean, man. I may be a musician, but I struggle sometimes when it comes to the real deal, ya know? Like, I can write songs about anything, but without my guitar, dude, I just freeze up."

The ladies' man nodded, then slyly nudged his companion, "So, got the hots for anyone in particular?"

Trent sighed a mixture of longing and fondness, "Yeah, I think I really connected with Gwen, particularly during the Awake-O-Thon. We talked a whole bunch in order to help keep each other awake. She's really cool, and I'd love to get to know her better." The musician nudged Cody back, "What about you, dude?"

Cody gave a nervous chuckle, "You're not going to believe this, but I'm super into Gwen too!" The two exchanged a look of uncertainty and held an awkward silence that felt like it dragged for an eternity. Finally, Trent broke it with a calm, yet somewhat strained smile,

"Don't worry dude, it happens. I can't be mad at you for liking the same girl as me." His response caused Cody to let loose a sigh of relief, which was quickly drawn back in when Trent placed his hand on his shoulder in a subtle intimidation tactic, "But, that being said, we can't both date her."

Cody gave a nervous chuckle and extended a sweaty palm,

"So, may the best man win?"

Trent inspected the hand, then made direct eye contact with the smaller, scrawnier boy, took his hand firmly and shook it,

"Yeah. May the best man win."

While the two friendly rivals made their pact of manliness and courtship, their third companion had found himself separated not only from those two but also from the larger fourth companion. Liam trudged his way alone through the woods, muttering to himself obscenities that the mics, thankfully, couldn't pick up. After wandering a bit, the lone Gopher found himself at the woods' edge facing the back of the amphitheater from earlier. He stopped to listen as a sweet melody swam through the air in a form of a beautifully and delicately played violin. The actor, who held little fear in his flamboyant heart, made his way to the back of the stage, where he caught a glimpse of something more attractive to him than stumbling upon a bathing nymph in the woods (this was a reference to earlier when he had encountered Izzy skinny dipping in a hidden lake which is a scene that has been edited out for fear of angry emails and phone calls from parents and lobbyists): Courtney and her violin.

The actor leaned on the railing and listened intently as the overachiever produced a golden sound effortlessly for an invisible audience. However, the very old, cheap, not-so-state-of-the-art, outdoor amphitheater did not have very secure railing installed, so the minimal amount of weight Liam had actually placed on it made it collapse in an instant. Luckily, only the railing and the actor were affected and nothing else came crashing down horrifically, however a certain C.I.T was made very aware of the Gopher boy's presence.

"What are you doing here?"

Liam quickly stood up and faced Courtney with a calm and collected grace, as he bowed in the presence of her never-changing scowl,

"I was going for, but a simple walk when I was separated from my party and ended up here whereupon I discovered hat appeared to be an angelic instrument being played," he looked up and added with a wink, "Turns out there was also an angel attached to it!"

Courtney reacted as he had come to expect, with a flustered scoff. She turned around and continued to play her violin, asking before she did so,

"What happened to never talking to me again?"

"Oh Courtney! How could I stay away from one who has bewitched me thusly? You have wrapped me in your silky threads and tug at my heart in every which way you travel! Though our love may be forbidden, I would be remiss if I were too abandon you."

The brunette, who made very little effort to drown the actor out, turned back to him and pointed her bow at him,

"First of all: there is no 'love' between us and there never will be! Second: you probably say that about every girl you meet, how am I supposed to believe what you say is true and not some sort of womanizing strategy? Third: shouldn't you be practicing for tonight?"

Liam rolled his eyes, "Oh please, do you think I'd be here if I had anything to practice? I stumbled upon you by accident, I swear, and I only did so because I'm not going to be in the talent show tonight." Not wanting to make a complete 180, he gave Courtney a little smile, "But I'm glad you're in it."

Courtney actually looked shocked, "How are you not in it? Aren't you an actor? Don't you preform for a living?"

The actor shrugged, "Not for a living, quite yet, but yeah, that's the intention. Guess I'm not as good as I thought I was."

Courtney's expression had softened and she seemed less inclined to berate the actor, "I seriously doubt that. Go ahead, sing for me."

Liam cocked an eyebrow, "You want me to sing for you?"

The overachiever rolled her eyes, "Not like that, although you're probably going to anyway," she added with a little smirk, "I just have to make sure you're not lying and just spying on me. To prove that, I need to hear you sing too, unless you really do suck."

Liam smiled, "Oh, I don't. I promise you that much." He grabbed Courtney's hand gently, and pulled her slowly closer to him. The overachiever resumed her startled, apprehensive nature,

"What are you doing?"

"Sorry, I should have asked you first: care to dance?"

"I'm not very good."

"Then you'll have to do something you've never done before."

"I've danced before, I- "

"No. Follow."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a string quartet started playing very softly yet passionately. Whether it was actually playing, or just in Courtney's head, she would never know. But what she did know was that it fit in perfectly with Liam's vocals,

" _It seems crazy, but you must believe,_

 _There's nothing calculated nothing planned,_

 _Please forgive me if I seem naïve,_

 _I would never want to force your hand,_

 _But please understand: I'd be good for you."_

His voice was soft and delicate, warm and yet so hot at the same time. Courtney could feel his breath on her face, as his hazel eyes gazed intensely into her chocolate ones. A slight blush appeared on her face, and her own breath became heavier. As the actor led her across the stage in a passionate tango, she could feel their bodies merging as one. It was a feeling unlike anything else Courtney had ever experienced.

" _I don't always rush in like this,_

 _Twenty seconds after saying hello,_

 _Telling strangers, I'm too good to miss,_

 _If I'm wrong I hope you'll tell me so,_

 _But you really should know: I'd be good for you,_

 _I'd be surprisingly good for you."_

There bodies couldn't be any closer than where they were just then. With one arm wrapped securely around her waist, and the other one holding firmly yet gently onto her hand, Courtney felt completely engulfed in Liam, and she had to admit, she kinda liked it. She kinda liked it a lot. There faces were centimeters apart, noses almost grazing at some points of the dance.

" _I won't go on if I'm boring you,_

 _But do you understand my point of view,_

 _Do you like what you hear what you see,_

 _And would you be good for me too?"_

There was some kind of trance being conducted, Courtney was convinced of that, she had never allowed herself to explore her desires in this manner, only shooting for excellence in academics and very little else. She'd never had any interest in anyone before, but that wall around her heart was slowly collapsing as this young and handsome actor danced his way into her heart. There was a flutter in her chest, one that she recognized as excitement, thrill even. She was certain that that's what it was. She didn't know how to react, she tried to think of what a guy like Liam would be used to at this point. Her heart sank a little when she realized he probably did every other weekend to some random girl he'd met. That, of course, didn't change the fact that she was still very much enjoying herself.

" _I'm not talking of a hurried night,_

 _A frantic tumble then a shy good bye,_

 _Creeping home before it gets too light,_

 _That's not the reason that you caught my eye,_

 _Which has to imply: I'd be good for you,_

 _I'd be surprisingly good for you."_

The music slowly faded from Courtney's mind, her eyes fixed solely on Liam's, which in turn were fixed solely on hers. The two stood there in a comfortable, welcome silence as they just studied each other, held each other, and admired each other. It seemed a blissful eternity, but even eternity has to end.

"Wow."

A smile spread across Liam's face at Courtney's reaction. The smile turned to laughter, a genuine, hearty laughter that infected itself into Courtney, who joined in shortly after. Finally, the two released their embrace, and as the laughter subsided Courtney added,

"I thought that was really good, and I'm really glad that we don't have to compete against you. I never admit this, but I don't think we would've stood a chance."

"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." Courtney bit her lip, then noticed that her hands were still intertwined with Liam's. A bit shocked, she pulled away, tucking the behind her and glancing off to the side. Liam kept his eyes on her, smiling at the sight. Then, he snapped his fingers,

"Shoot! I totally should've sang 'He Plays the Violin' from _1776_!"

Courtney looked back at Liam, "You totally could! I mean, if you wanted to."

Liam sighed, looking at his silver watch, "I would love to, but alas, we have an hour, and last I checked we don't even have our three performers yet."

Courtney mentally kicked herself for asking that, "Right, wow, you should really go then."

Sensing a twinge of regret, Liam placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, believe me when I say that I would rather be here with you right now than anywhere else in the world." Courtney's eyes sparkled as he said that, as if Liam wasn't already feeling a bit overwhelmed with how invested he was becoming in her. "Unfortunately for the two of us, we are on opposing teams in a race for $100,000. This kind of interaction really can't happen this often. I wouldn't want your team to get suspicious of you and vote you off because of me."

Courtney nodded, "I understand. I need to practice anyway."

Liam gave her a sad smile, "I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

It was a less a question and more a promise, Courtney didn't know quite how to respond to it. But she wasn't given much time to figure out. Before long, Liam had departed. The overachiever watched him, playing her melody a bit more sorrowfully as he disappeared in the distance. When he returned, it was with nineteen other teenagers and two full grown adults. Courtney had stopped playing the moment five people had trickled in, and sat next to Bridgette and Ella on the Bass bleachers. Now, as the twenty-one teenagers took their seats, the attention was placed on the host, who took the place of the actor and overachiever onstage.

"Alright, campers, let's get this show on the road! For six of you, your twenty seconds of fame starts, and quite possibly ends, right now! First up, with a ribbon dance for the Killer Bass, the gentle giant, the man who puts the man in woman: DJ!"

DJ walked out on stage in his white leotard, ribbon in his hand. He assumed a pose on center stage, with a very friendly smile as he awaited his music to start. The Bass Bros were the most boisterous, with Geoff and Tyler whooping and cheering DJ on before anything had even happened. Ezekiel, wedged between the two, stood up and joined in repeating every cheer although very delayed. Even Duncan clapped and gave the occasional cheer of support, although whenever anyone looked his way he stopped and resumed a disinterested position.

The cheering naturally died out, except for Ezekiel who gave a couple more before realizing no one else was still cheering. DJ stood frozen in place as he continued to wait for his music to play. After five minutes, his smile disappeared and was replaced with a scowl. Chris popped back out onstage and announced,

"We seem to be having some technical difficulties, uhm, Chef? Do your DJ thing and let's give it up for DJ!"

There was an awkward silence then a muffled shout, "I can't get the damn thing to work!"

Chris sighed and yelled back, "Did you turn the thing on?"

Chef was quick to respond, "Did I turn the thing on? The Hell you think I am, stupid? Of course I turned the thing- oh. You mean turn it on turn it on… right, uhhh, try it now."

Chris looked at the camera and grinned, "DJ!"

The cheering resumed in the same style as before as DJ retook his place on center stage. The music finally played, and thus the gentle giant began his dance. His flexibility and agility were unmatched, and actually quite impressive. He leaped around with grace and poise, twirling his ribbon and jumping through it from time to time. Finally, he landed in a perfect right split and threw his ribbon up in the air. Chris reentered the stage as the audience applauded,

"Dainty, yet masculine. Let's see what Grand Master Chef thinks!" There was a pause as Chris waited for the verdict from Chef, which came in the form of a golf ball to the head. Chris rubbed his forehead and picked up the ball which had a number scribbled onto it, reading it aloud angrily, "It's a two. Hmm, not much. Now let's see if the Gophers can top it with Justin! Let's face it, they probably will!"

As DJ walked off the stage disappointedly, Justin took it, placing a chair and sitting down on it. Some music started to play as he struck various poses holding them long enough for a few stray cameras to flash. He kept up the modeling act until finally sitting back down on the chair and pulling a rope that had materialized out of nowhere, which released a bucket of water on him. He took several more pictures before finally removing his shirt to dry off his face, revealing his beautiful body. When he had finished, most of the audience was in a trance and nearly forgot to clap. Chris returned to the stage and caught the golf ball that was thrown at him this time, reading it aloud with a smile,

"And Justin scores a six for the Gophers, giving them a four-point lead over the Bass! Next up, please welcome one of the few people in this cast who probably won't starve once this show is over: Courtney and her violin!"

Courtney took the stage, much like she had earlier, and proceeded to slice through the air with her beautifully, well rehearsed melody. It was, as Courtney was used to, flawless. And the Bass erupted in a standing ovation upon it's completion. The overachiever's eyes darted slightly over to the Gopher side, however, where she noticed a certain actor clapping much louder than the rest of his team. Courtney's pride was cut short when Chris read the golf ball verdict.

"Courtney gets a seven!"

"What?"

"Seven, the number after six and before eight."

"But that was perfect! It should have been a ten!"

"Hey, I don't make the rules, well, I do, but here Chef is the judge! Sorry!"

Before Courtney could further her complaint, she was forced off the stage by Chris, who was announcing the next contestant simultaneously.

"Now with the Killer Bass creeping ahead with two points, it's up to Beth to at least even out the odds!"

The host stepped off the stage and allowed for Beth to take it. In her hand, she held two batons which she quickly set aflame and proceeded to twirl them rapidly and juggling them in the air. The act both frightened and bewildered the other twenty contestants, who were slowly becoming more and more comfortable with Beth's coordination. That is, until she threw a baton a little to hard up in the air, causing it to arch over the stage and land by the Gopher bleachers, causing the ten teens to disperse as the seats caught on fire. The bleachers burned down quit quickly and nothing else was set ablaze, but all of the Gophers, and even a few Bass were startled. Chris reappeared, half surprised half amused,

"Wow, that's deadly! But can it put the Gophers ahead?"

Chris read off of Chef's ball after catching it right in front of his head, "Nope, Beth gets a three, putting the Gophers in a tie with the Bass! It's neck and neck and now, it's Harold! Oh boy, I can't wait to see this epic bomb!"

And bomb indeed he did, at least in the sense that should he ever get a serious career he ought to incorporate that into his name, because his beats were explosive. The dweeb left the audience, all now sitting on one set of bleachers, completely speechless. When Harold dropped his final "boo-yah", the Bass erupted in cheers as the Gophers, who had previously been snickering, looked on in awe. Chris was quick to announce the score,

"And that's a straight eight for Harold the Great! With one chance left, can the Gopher's pull past the Bass with Trent's little love song?"

Harold and Trent switched places, with the musician setting down a stool before adjusting the microphone to become perfectly capture both his vocals and his instrumentals.

"This song goes out to someone special here at camp."

Cody audibly gulped as he watched Gwen lean in, focus one hundred percent on Trent as the musician began strumming up a cute little melody.

" _They say we've only got summer,_

 _But I say that that's really a bummer,_

 _But we'll swim in the sun and have lots of fun,_

 _It'll just be the two of us,_

 _Nothing to do just hang,_

 _So let me say just this:_

 _Stick around for just one kiss."_

The audience, particularly that of the Gopher variety cheered loudly while the Bass politely clapped. Chris strutted back on stage and placed a hand on Trent's shoulder as the musician waved at the camera,

"I like your style, kid!" Trent's star struck mood was interrupted as he was knocked off his stool by the flying golf ball to his face, which bounced nicely into Chris' hand, "And so does Grand Master Chef, that's an eight buddy!" Chris looked down at the musician, "Hmm, can we get some ice for this kid?"

Chris paused and began doing some mental calculating, "So, hmm, wait a minute, that means that's seventeen for the Bass and seventeen for the Gophers. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's the same number, which means it's a tie!"

There was an audible gasp. Chris raised his hands to usher a silence among the teens, "Don't panic, there is one way to settle this! We will randomly select two contestants, one from each team, to show off their talents in one final tie-breaking show down! Whichever performance Chef likes better will be the winner! Chef?" Two more golf balls were hurled at the host's head, bouncing off of his forehead and into his palms. Chris inspected them,

"And its Heather for the Screaming Gophers and Ella for the Killer Bass! You will have ten minutes to prepare your talent, may the best camper win!"

 **Confessionals**

Heather: I am a classically trained dancer. I do ballet, jazz, lyrical, and ballroom among other things. I could have easily gotten a ten and beat out that wimpy little artsy girl. But Gwen needs to be taken down a peg. It's bad enough that Liam is trying to form his little boy band, but if Gwen thinks she can disrupt the power structure, she's got another think coming.

Ella: If it were just me and this camera, I'd be fine with that. But it's not! It's me, a dozen cameras, and the other people here at camp! I saw Heather put on a tutu, how are my sketches supposed to beat Heather's ballet? If I lose, I guess I can say that I wasn't first.

 **End Confessionals**

The Queen Bee took a seat on the stool that Trent once sat on, wearing a pink tutu and her hair up in a ponytail. She left the microphone and adjusted it accordingly,

"Originally, I was going to dance for you. But instead, I want to celebrate team spirit with a collaboration!"

Heather brandished an unusual black book that left most of the audience members perplexed. Only a handful of people actually recognized it, but the look on Gwen's face helped to fill in the gaps for everyone else.

"She wouldn't!"

Gwen shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking nervously at the stage as Heather proceeded,

"So, with words by Gwen, performance by me, enjoy!" The Queen Bee cleared her throat mockingly, "'Ok, so I'm trying to ignore him, but he's just _so_ cute! If they had custom ordered a guy to be a distraction for me here, it would have been McHottie!'"

The tension in the crowd was tangible. The only one who didn't seem too perturbed by the oration was a smirking Cody, who seemed convinced that "McHottie" was a synonym for "Codemeister".

"'We just totally connect, he's pretty much the only person I can relate to here and I know it's a cliché, but I love guys who play guitar!'"

Cody's smirk of triumph turned to a look of confusion, "Wait, I don't play guitar." He turned to look at his left where Trent stood, guitar in hand. The musician looked worriedly over at the tech geek, neither of which still didn't seem to get it.

Gwen had had enough of the humiliation, and scurried away in a swift panic. Heather watched with malicious delight before closing the book.

"Thank you!"

The silence was unbearable. Heather calmly strutted off stage as Chris arrived to retake his place, his expression mirrored the surprise shared amongst the rest of the islanders.

"Ok, well that was… enlightening. Can Ella beat that interesting performance? If she can't then that'll be really, really sad!"

The timid artist was scribbling furiously away in her sketchpad, being the only person unaware of the previous incident. Chris, who had donned a host's smile upon announcing her, let it slide away at the inattentive response.

"Uh, Ella? It's me, Chris MacLean, the host of this show that you are on. If you don't wanna participate, you don't have to be here!"

Ella remained seated until Bridgette nudged her. The artist jumped startled and glared at her interrupter,

"What?"

Bridgette pointed to the stage, "You're up."

Ella looked around to see everyone waiting for her. As the realization sunk in that all eyes were on her, her face became a color pallet of all shades of red and she sunk further and further into her seat. The artist almost completely disappeared in the folds of the bleachers when Courtney pulled her up by her apron strings and nudged her gently forward.

"Go on, Ella, you can do this! We believe in you!"

"Yeah, let's go Ella!"

The artist turned to see Tyler starting to chant her name, inviting the other members of the Bass team to follow suit. Even Duncan became partially invested and half-heartedly, which was still more heart than Ella needed to be encouraged. She walked nervously onto the stage and handed her notepad to Chris.

"It's, uhm, not quite finished, but, here."

Chris took the pad and inspected the sketch thoroughly.

"Well, it's a bit exaggerated for my taste. But lucky for you, I'm not the judge. Grand Master Chef, what say you?"

The host flipped the pad around to reveal a very life-like, yet unfinished portrait of Chef Hatchet dicing vegetables, a routine seldom ever seen by anyone outside of this particular scene. The sketch was still a bit rough and clearly needed to be reworked, but it still showed raw and excellent talent.

Chef Hatchet himself walked up onstage to get a better look at the portrait. A single tear slid down his face as he sniffed, "This is the most beautiful picture I have ever seen!" He turned to face the artist, "Mind if I keep it, Ella?"

Even Chris was stunned. He'd never heard Chef call any camper by their actual name. It was clear what the final verdict was. As Ella handed the picture to Chef, Chris turned to the camera with a smile that could blind the blind,

"And, in another surprising twist of events, the Killer Bass win!" The aforementioned Killer Bass cheered, enveloping Ella in a giant group hug as she returned to her team. Chris turned to the Gophers who coagulated over to one side,

"Gophers, you're sending someone else home tonight!"

 **Confessional**

Heather: So having four votes against one person is fine, but six is the only way that I can ensure that I'm not going anywhere. I just need to make sure I target the right people. Gwen, Trent, and Leshawna are all off limits, and I seriously doubt Cody would listen to anything I told him after today. I could target one of them, but I don't think I could manage that. That leaves me with Justin, Owen, and Liam as either with me or against me. Let's see who's smarter of the three.

 **End Confessional**

"So is Justin with us against Heather?"

"Justin is a complicated man, Cody. He takes time to work."

Cody was stern-faced, "We don't have time, Liam. The elimination is in ten minutes and we need six votes to get rid of Heather!"

Liam rolled his eyes, "What makes you so certain she won't get six votes against her? She has her little entourage, that's four. Even if she gets Justin, that's only five."

Cody looked the actor dead in the eye, with a serious pleading in his eye, Cody implored, "So I can count on you for your vote?"

"Why does it matter to you so much anyway? It's not like Heather read your diary."

"I rather she would have. Look, I just found out that the girl I'm into isn't into me- "

"You just found that out?"

"The point is; Heather is out to get Gwen for some reason. If we don't do something, she'll make her life here miserable. Gwen means the world to me, I want to make sure that nothing bad like this ever happens to her again."

Liam cocked an eyebrow, "For someone who just got rejected, you sure do seem to care a lot about what happens to this girl."

Cody shook his head, "It isn't about me, Liam. When you fall in love with someone, you'll understand that it's never about anyone else but them."

Liam played with his goatee thoughtfully at what the tech geek had said. He was actually quite blown away with the profound message. Slowly, the actor smirked and extended his hand,

"You have my word that Heather shall not win, Codemeister."

Cody grinned, allowing his gap to be placed on display front and center. He took the actor's hand,

"Thank you so much, Liam! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"Oh I have an idea. You can also trust that Owen shall be voting with me, so don't worry about him, ok? We guys have to stick together."

 **Confessional**

Liam: I have to admit, Cody's speech made me realize the importance trusting others. He trusts me which is very good. If only Justin could understand how I want things to work. He still shows a certain reluctance when it comes to following my orders. This is good for neither me or him.

 **End Confessional**

As the actor stepped out of the confessional booth, he was intercepted by a certain Queen Bee. She brought him to behind the outhouse and looked him straight in the eye.

"Do you want to stay in the game?"

The actor cocked an eyebrow, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately,

"Excuse me? If either one of us should be asking that it's me."

Heather smirked, "Oh please, do you actually think you can get enough man power to get rid of me?"

It was Liam's turn to smirk, "Actually, it wasn't my idea. But Gwen, Leshawna, Cody, Trent, Owen, and I are all planning on voting for you. Do the math, even with Justin or your pathetic alliance you can't win!"

The Queen Bee frowned, and the actor thought he was witnessing Heather's concession. But the frown soon returned to a smirk,

"Do you really think you can trust the others?"

"Don't even play that game with me, Heather."

"It's not a game, Liam, it's a warning. We would have won hands down, no tie-breaker if you were in the talent contest today."

Liam scoffed, "Yeah, and who's fault was that?"

Heather placed her well manicured hand on her chest, "Not mine. I simply suggested we audition everyone, but guess what, we didn't."

The actor's mouth fell open, "Wait, what?"

Heather nodded, "You heard me. Only you and Owen auditioned, and neither of you made it on stage. You think I wanted that to happen? It wasn't my idea, ask Katie. I think you're really talented, Liam, honest I do." Heather took the opportunity to inch closer to the actor, until he could feel her hot breath on his face. Liam was too shocked to notice,

"That's impossible! That's outrageous! How could they do that?"

Heather shrugged, "But vote with me, and I can guarantee we send home anyone of your choice."

This snapped the actor back into reality. His wits returned, and he inched slightly away from the encroaching Queen Bee.

"Whoa there, honey, as far as I'm concerned you're making that all up. Give me a good reason why I should believe you!"

Heather held up her dainty, cute little fingers and waved them at the actor, "I can think of five right off the top of the bat."

Liam guffawed, "Oh please, intimidation tactics? What is this, Charlie Brown?"

Heather smiled, leaning in closer, allowing her hand to drift below the actor's waistline,

"Oh silly Liam, my fingers can do other things besides punching. But that only comes with good behavior, keep defying me and it will be the other way around, got it?"

The seduction was almost complete, had it not been for the little threat at the end. Yet, that somewhat turned the actor on even more as he pondered the suggestion.

"Ok, that's five reasons. Now give me a sixth."

Heather scowled and removed her hand from south to north of the equator, "Don't push your luck, perv, I've given you plenty of reasons to vote with me tonight. I have nothing to gain from tricking you right now. You and I both know that I need your vote to keep me from going home, as much as I hate to admit it. You have four votes at your disposal, can you guarantee yourself that kind of power with the others? I'm letting you choose who we send home, not forcing you to vote for who I choose, got it?"

The actor paused. Heather's heart sunk when the actor smiled deviously, but that soon changed.

"No Heather, make that six votes."

Campfire Pit- Screaming Gophers

"Kudos to you all for an incredible night of entertainment! Music, drama, surprises! As you know from last time, there are only enough marshmallows here for all to get one; all except one! When I call your name, please come up and claim your marshmallow: Gwen,"

The Goth shifted uncomfortably forward to claim the token, shooting daggers at Heather as she did so.

"Trent,"

The musician strolled over with confidence as he took his spot next to Gwen, giving her a smile that she returned with color.

"Cody."

The wannabe Casanova sauntered over with a confident air, that quickly diminished when he saw Gwen blushing over Trent.

"Liam."

As the actor walked up next to Cody, the tech geek gave him a small, grateful smile, to which the actor gave a curt nod in response.

"Leshawna."

The loud and proud girl hustled over to the safe zone, claiming her fluffy treat and high-fiving Gwen on her way over.

"Lindsay."

The dumb blonde cheered and rushed gleefully over, kissing her treat as she stood next to Liam.

"Beth."

The wannabe hugged Katie before joining Lindsay in celebration over in the winner's circle.

"Katie."

The best friend, who had been nervous, quickly smiled and ran over to join her new friends in merriment.

This left Heather and Justin, both calm and collected, smiling with confidence that seemed to declare them both winners. However, for one of them, that would simply not be the case.

"Justin: you reminded us all that looks matter a lot. And Heather, you're full of surprises. But, reading another chick's diary out loud to the whole world, man that is whack! No kidding, that's really messed up, dude."

This description alone made Justin's confidence soar. There was no way in the right minds of anyone with eyes that he would be sent home. Why should he? He made all the right moves: kept quiet, buddied up with one of the most influential people on his team, and looked insanely good while doing it. There was no reason for him to go home, absolutely zero.

So why did Heather look so confident?

"Oh please, just give me my marshmallow already!"

Justin frowned, what did she mean by "her marshmallow"? She was going home, he made sure of it when he talked to Leshawna and Cody. This was not an option, losing, for him, was not an option.

"Justin," Chris said, "I personally think this is very wrong. But tonight, hotness just wasn't enough. Tonight, the last marshmallow goes to: Heather."

There was an audible gasp. Heather took in the wonderfully shocked expressions on the faces of four out of nine Gophers standing with immunity. The looks were priceless, but getting her closer to $100,000.

Justin remained speechless. Not that that was particularly difficult for him, but this time around it was much more devastating. Chris approached, empty tray in hand,

"Time to catch the boat of losers, brah."

Heather popped the marshmallow into her mouth and waved mockingly at the male model, "Later, brah!"

After packing his bags, Justin found himself departing from the competition and from the prize. He didn't know why or how, but he knew that he was gone. And, unbeknownst to those he had left behind, the determination to win did not leave him, but only grew. He would be back, someday, and he would not relent. That, he would promise.

 **Confessionals**

Liam: I hope that this teaches Justin a lesson: I am always right.

Gwen: If that evil, little cow thinks she's getting away with this, she has another think coming.

 **End Confessionals**

The campers had long since returned to their cabins, only one in particular was approaching a completely different one.

Gwen knocked on the door of to the Boy's room of the Killer Bass, hoping that the person she was looking for would answer before anyone else did. Luckily, he did.

"Did you say you brought a red any farm with you?"

Harold blinked groggily, "Yes."

The Goth wasted little time. When she made sure that everyone in her cabin was asleep, she dumped the entire ant farm on Heather's bed. Then, with great agility, she tossed the farm out of the window and slid gracefully into her bed, careful not to make a sound and waited patiently for her plan to work.

It did.

Screams of absolute pain and terror never sounded so sweet.

 **A.N:** Okay, this is probably one of my least favorite episodes becuase it handled the Justin thing so poorly, and yet here I am doing almost the exact same thing. I'm such a hypocrite. Oh well, I tried to add a little more flavor to his elimination by giving him, oh, I don;t know, actual fucking lines! Yeah, notice how Justin (other than B of course) is the only character that doesn't say a single thing in the episode he is eliminated in. Thank goodness they changed that in TDA. But I changed it here. I also tried to add elements of Justin's vanity getting in the way of bonding with the other Gopher dudes, giving Liam probable cause to want to vote him off.

Speaking of Liam, I really tried going overboard with him here. To confirm a few things, Liam is a Latino-Canadian character (and a very popular name in my stories), and this interpretation of him stems a bit more into Alejandro territory. Not to worry, he's not Alejandro completely. Instead of Heather with social skills, Liam resembles more a Courtney with social skills (damn, why'd I get rid of Noah again?). Hopefully the whole Heather flirting with him (ish) scene doesn't seem too forced, I thought that that might add an interesting dynamic to their relationship. Whether or ont it goes anywhere is tbd for you all (I already know the answer to that)! Of course, we can't forget about Courtney, who has an even stronger moment with the actor here!

Also, Ella! I didn;t want it to be too predictable, what with the whole Justin getting eliminated thing, so I tried to shake it up iwth the talent show. Instead of HArold saving the day, it's Ella. I feel like this gives a little more validity for people to pick on Harold, which is an importnant subplot that amkes very little sense in cannon given his immense contributions to his team. So, in order to keep Ella occupied, I tried making her useful in some way! Hope it works!

This chapter was a pain to write, but I also had a lot of fun with it. I think once I post this chapter, this will become my longest story at over 40,000 words. I'll have to double check, but I'm really loving this series, so don't worry about it for now! I still have a week and a half before school starts, I can get a lot done if I focus! As always, make sure to let me know what ya think, that's always appreciated around these parts! Thanks again for reading and I'll try to update again as soon as possible!

-That1guyeveryonehates.


	6. Sucky Outdoors

Episode Six: Sucky Outdoors

"Last time on Total Drama Island! The campers got a chance to show off what they think makes them special in our talent contest! Some exhibited a lot of potential while others just made it harder to watch them! Gwen got up in Heather's face, and Liam and Courtney got up in each other's faces! The teams were tied and it came down to Heather and Ella, the former of which practically handed the Bass the win when she read Gwen's diary in front of the whole viewing world; harsh! In order to save herself from elimination, Heather tricked Liam into voting off Justin, and despite not having done anything wrong, the model was the next to go. Who will follow his ridiculously gorgeous footsteps? Find out right here on Total Drama Island!"

Theme Song

Killer Bass Cabin- Girls

The sun crept slowly through the window to the girl's cabin, drenching the room in a dim light. It wasn't high enough to completely submerge the room yet, but the dawn brought about light that the room had lacked.

This did very little to stir the female Bass as they lay on their beds, dreaming the minutes away. Dressed in a white nightgown, Ella had let her black curls run loose instead of her usual bun, and was snoring away comfortably, clutching her sketchbook close to her body.

Bridgette wore a simple light-blue tank top with white shorts, snuggling warmly with her pillow as a lone ray of sunshine kissed her nose. The surfer also had her hair down, and was smiling peacefully in her sleep.

Izzy, on the other hand, was a lot less tranquil. Even in her dreams she was feisty and intense, sporting only a green bra and matching shorts, she gnawed on her pillow, eyebrows furrowed and lips curled in malicious delight.

Only Courtney, in her light-pink under garments, dreamed with her eyes wide open. The C.I.T was having difficulty sleeping, her thoughts certainly didn't help her. She had woken herself up from what was, admittedly, a wonderful dream. In it, she and Liam were walking through the woods together, talking and laughing; enjoying each other's company. It was nice. Too nice.

The C.I.T didn't want to be having dreams like that, not right now, in the middle of the competition. She needed her mind to focus in on winning $100,000. There were billions of boys in the world, but ways to win that much cash were very few. She needed to focus on her priorities.

But what about after she won? What would happen then? Would she try dating Liam? Would she just go back home and forget about him? He certainly wasn't on her mind before she arrived, the boy hadn't existed as far as she was concerned. But now he does, and he only does because of this competition. What were the chances of that happening?

One in a billion.

She began to wonder what he was doing at the present moment. She sighed, closing her eyes tighter, trying to make herself sleep for at least thirty minutes. She remained blissfully unaware that just across the grass in a cabin similar to hers, a certain Gopher sat wide awake, lost in thought and unable to sleep.

Liam too had a lot to think about, perhaps even more than Courtney did. For starters, the actor worried about Justin's elimination. Getting rid of the model put him at a slight disadvantage. While by no means a team player, Justin had no qualms with the actor, and probably could have made himself a useful ally. However, the curly-haired teen erred on the side of numbers in the most recent elimination. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the Gopher boys split, and Justin was not likely to share his. Cody, Owen and Trent, however, all seemed to get along well enough; at the end of the day Liam preferred being on their side instead of Justin's.

However, forming a shaky alliance with Heather came with certain downsides. Aside from the boost in numbers, the relationship was fragile and could shatter at any given minute, should Heather choose to get rid of him. She had made a valid point, Liam hadn't won the trust or loyalty of anyone outside of Owen (and even that was fragile as the jolly giant was easily manipulated), and they could all turn on him the moment Heather was gone. So long as the Queen Bee was in the game, the actor could rest easy knowing that there was a bigger target somewhere else.

Of course, Heather herself was quite an enigma. Liam would never admit, but he was awful at reading people. He had difficulty telling when the mean girl was being honest or deceitful, as he knew neither could be correct 100% of the time. He certainly didn't trust the girl, but he knew he would have to stay on her good side until he could find a way to get rid of her or her power. As of right now, he was in her well-manicured grasp.

Whether or not he truly desired to be grasped by the Queen Bee, he was unsure. Girls like Heather certainly never made moves on anyone without ulterior motives, and while he knew she had one, he couldn't help but think that it wasn't too farfetched to suspect that she might not be relying on just her motives. Desire certainly could be a factor, he was, after all, one of the more attractive guys on the island. If he were back at home, he would have no problem hooking up with a Heather; he was charming and charismatic enough.

But how often would he find a Courtney? He didn't know what it was he saw in the Bass girl that made him feel different about her. She was similar to Heather in personality: demanding, uptight, elitist, high-maintenance; the type of girl Liam found attracted him the most. But between Heather and Courtney, the actor couldn't help but feel like the mocha-skinned Portuguese-Canadian somehow stood out more. It was bizarre, to say the least, but perhaps it had something to do with that tango, being so close to her that they were practically one made him feel that he was currently missing his other half.

What had started out as petty flirtation seemed to be turning into a budding romance. Whether or not Courtney felt the same was up for interpretation, and bold ones at that. Yet the actor desired nothing more than being bold. He knew he would have to be, considering the person he was dealing with. Yet Liam was still apprehensive. Part of staying on Heather's good side meant not flirting with Courtney, at least not publically. Had he been caught dancing with her a couple of days ago, he'd have gone home for sure. He needed more privacy or more time, both horrifically scarce resources on a reality survival game show.

As the sun further enveloped the room, Trent's eyes began to flicker. The musician released a yawn and rubbed his eyes. His was the bottom bunk, where Justin had previously slept only two nights ago, that sat directly next to Owen and Noah's bunk, where, after much reluctance, Owen had finally come down to take Noah's old bottom bed. The bunk beds where directly across from the ones that Liam and Cody possessed, each boy getting a top and a bottom bunk due to the disproportionate ratio of campers to beds. Now there were four Gopher boys remaining, which essentially gave each boy a set of two beds.

Trent's bed happened to be the one directly across from Liam's making the first thing he saw that morning was the pensive actor sitting upright on his mattress. The musician, being the friendly soul he was, thought it best to strike a conversation,

"Mornin' dude, been up a while?"

Liam jumped slightly, not expecting anyone to be awake, then, before he could answer, he noticed the sunlight drowning the room and went to shield it from his eyes,

"Shit, what time is it!?"

Trent yawned, "I dunno, man, I just woke up. I thought you would know."

Liam's eyebrows furrowed, "Well, I don't!"

"How long have you been up, dude?"

The actor blinked, "I… I think all night!"

Trent's eyes went wide, "Oh no, dude, it's challenge day today! That's so not good!"

Liam rolled his eyes, "No shit, Sherlock, I hadn't noticed! You think I wanted to stay up so late?"

Trent raised his hands defensively, "Hey man, no need to get all riled up about it. Besides, the last couple of challenges have been pretty tame so far, I can't imagine anything too hard today either."

Liam sighed, rubbing his temples, "I'm sorry, Trent, it's just, I've got a lot on my mind. And, to be honest, I've been having trouble sleeping since the last challenge."

"Is it Justin?"

"Well, I would be lying if I said no, but I assure you it's nothing like Owen with Noah."

"Sure man, whatever you say."

"I promise you, I may have been his closest friend, but I barely got three words out of his mouth in the four or five times I actually talked to him."

Trent frowned, "Oh, that sucks dude, I'm sorry."

Liam waved his hand dismissively, "Don't be, we really weren't that close." The actor trailed off, starting to stare off in the distance. Trent got himself out of bed and moved over to place a hand on Liam's shoulder,

"Dude, I know we don't talk to much, but I want you to know that I'm here for ya. I'm thankful that you've been helping me with Gwen, and I'd like to know if there's anything I can do to help you with your problems, I'd more than happy to help."

The actor looked up at the musician and smiled earnestly, or at least, earnestly enough for Trent to take it as sincere. Whether or not it was genuine can never truly be deciphered when dealing with a man who takes joy in lying.

"Trent, I thank you for your concern and I appreciate your support. But know that my act in helping you with Gwen is one that I employ merely as a charitable act of good will and brotherhood! I require nothing from you in return for it, other than the pleasure of helping you secure your happiness!"

Although Trent couldn't decipher Liam's true emotions or intentions, he could decipher language and retorted back with a smile,

"Then consider it my own act of good will by helping you out in anyway that secures you your happiness!"

The actor chuckled, "Not quite as original or eloquent as I put it, but genuine nonetheless! I thank you Trent!"

The two shook hands.

 **Confessionals**

Trent: I know that we may not be as tight as the Bass guys, but I've come to really appreciate the guys on my team. Owen, Cody, and Liam are three of the kindest, most genuine people I've ever met, I'm glad they're all still here! Even Noah and Justin weren't so bad, just a bit more anti-social is all. I'm sure they would've warmed up to us if they were given more time.

Liam: I can't believe I didn't see this before; Trent is the key to this team! With him on my side, I automatically win over Gwen, Cody, and Leshawna in one fell stroke! Combine that with Owen's blind faith in the inherent goodness of all who are nice to him and Heather's quadruple entente, I'm invincible!

 **End Confessionals**

After an uneventful breakfast, the remaining twenty campers gathered around the campfire as their friendly-neighborhood-host-dude kindly explained to them the next challenge.

"Campers, today's challenge will test your outdoor survival skills! I'm not gonna lie to ya, some of you might not come back alive!" There was an audible gasp, particularly from the Gopher section, resulting in Chris defensively raising his hands, "Hey, I'm joking! Everything you'll need to survive is located at your campsites, which you can find using these nifty compasses and maps!"

Chris tossed said devices to the nearest members of the teams: Ezekiel for the Bass and Heather for the Gophers, however the host wasn't done with the explanation,

"Oh, and watch out for bears! I lost a couple of interns during pre-production! First team to make it back tomorrow wins invincibility and of course the losers get to send another loser home… because they're losers! Alright, good luck!"

As Chris exited the area, leaving the teams to mingle amongst themselves.

"Did he say there were bears up in here?"

Owen approached the nervous Leshawna,

"I had an encounter with a bear once!" He patted his chest proudly, "Let's just say, his head looks great on my mantle!"

As several Gophers exchanged concerned looks, a certain redheaded Bass girl bounded over to them,

"Oh, this one time, I saw a bear eating our garbage! He had old spaghetti noodles hanging from his big, huge teeth, it looked like blood and guts! It was so gross! And we thought it was eating the neighbor's cat, Simba, but it turns out he was just lost for a week!"

Izzy's madcap-recap was interrupted when she noticed the terrified expression on Lindsay's face. The crazy girl thought for a second before asking the blonde, "You didn't eat spaghetti last night, did you?" Lindsay shook her head causing Izzy to perk up, "Ok great! Hey Killer Bass! Wait for me! Let's go!"

As the redhead bounded off towards her team, the Gophers gathered around the map, reading it thoroughly. Finally, Heather asked,

"Does anyone know how to read this stupid thing?"

Owen let loose a sigh at the word 'read' and muttered, "Noah!"

The Gophers ignored the jolly giant. Cody piped up,

"I think we have to head that way, those tents have to be our campsite, so we just have to figure out where we are right now and direct ourselves there!"

Trent pointed at a spot on the map that looked to be a campfire,

"I think we're right here, so we should be walking in," he looked up and pointed, "that way!"

Leshawna was the first to move, "Alright then, let's go! The sooner we find the tents the sooner I can sleep and this challenge can be over!"

As the Gophers departed, the Bass were still trying to decipher who would lead the group, of course Courtney and Duncan were the ones fighting over that, or rather, whether or not Courtney should lead,

"You don't even want to lead, Duncan, why are you against me holding the map?"

The punk scoffed, "Because, princess, I don't take orders from chicks like you. Besides, I think farm boy over here might be little better at this stuff than a city girl."

Courtney scowled, "Are you really siding with that sexist nose-picker over me: an experienced C.I.T?"

Before Ezekiel could say anything, Bridgette stepped forward,

"I'm with Courtney on this one, of all the people you could have chosen, why choose the person we hate the most?"

Duncan raised an eyebrow, "Uh, says who? Zeke's got the dudes on his side, and we outnumber you now!" He turned and returned the map to the prairie boy, "Here, Zeke."

The homeschool pushed back,

"I doon't want to, eh?"

Duncan scowled,

"I didn't ask you if you wanted to, homeschool, I'm giving it to you!"

"Boot- "

"Take the damn map and walk!"

The punk shoved the map into Ezekiel's arms and proceeded to push him forward. When the two boys had gotten a few feet ahead, DJ, Tyler, and Geoff started to walk silently behind them. The Bass Bros were followed by Harold, Ella, Izzy, and Bridgette, and lastly by Courtney, who refused to move until her team was barely in sight anymore.

She was utterly furious at how rudely she had just been treated, and while she was glad that Bridgette had come to her side, she wished that the overly passive surfer girl would have done more. Or that anyone would have done something.

 **Confessional**

Courtney: I can't believe I'm saying this, but: I wish Eva were here! She may have been psychotic and a danger to our wellbeing, but at least she would've knocked some sense into that stupid ogre and his sexist pig!

 **End Confessional**

As Courtney walked, her mind slipped into an absent-minded trail of thought. She began to imagine in her head what would happen in various hypothetical scenarios: _what if I was a Gopher? What if Katie or Sadie switched teams? What if Sadie, Eva, Noah, or Justin were still here? What the hell was that?_

The last question came to her as she found herself face flat on the ground, although her body was not touching the ground, but rather bent over a large, weirdly soft object. Before she could attempt to process what the object was, it began to move from under her, trying to push her off of it. It didn't take too long to figure out that it was a person, and she would soon discover which person in particular.

"Oh shit, I think I messed up my hair!"

Courtney rolled over and picked herself up, watching the Gopher actor dusting himself off and doing the same. He stood up and made eye contact with her, as he wiped the dirt off of his sunglasses. His flustered scowl quickly melted into a coy grin,

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my brunette Juliet!"

Courtney rolled her eyes, "It isn't… I'm not your… ugh!"

Liam continued to gaze intensely into Courtney's eyes, leaving the C.I.T flustered and annoyed, mainly because she knew she couldn't look away. Finally, the actor broke the silence,

"So, where is everyone?"

The Type-A's eyes went wide,

"Oh my gosh! They left us here!"

"They what? Where did they go?"

Courtney bit her lip, "Well, we were supposed to go with our teams to our campsites and spend a night in the woods," then she let loose an angry puff of air, "How could they forget about me? I'm the most experienced person on their team, I was a C.I.T!"

Liam tapped his chin, "So, maybe we should try looking for our teams?"

"We?"

"Yeah, unless, you know, we get disqualified for not participating?"

Courtney crossed her arms, "Why should I help you, Gopher?"

Liam mocked shock, "You wouldn't leave me here all alone, would you?"

The overachiever smirked and raised her head in defiance, "Oh I absolutely would, we're on opposing teams!"

"But surely a true C.I.T would help another camper out when they need it the most? Especially when dealing with something as dangerous as a walk through the woods!"

Courtney opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, she glared, "Ok, fine. But only because I don't want to be held responsible for your untimely death!"

The actor shrugged, "Works for me!"

 **Confessionals**

Courtney: Just to be clear, I'm not helping him because I like him, I'm helping him because it's the right thing to do. He's nothing but an arrogant, immature, lazy, pretty boy who- **her eyes go wide** I don't mean "pretty" as in… like… ugh!

Liam: I must admit, I've never been asked out in such a blunt and horrific manner before... I can count this as a date, right?

 **End Confessionals**

Wherever the actual Gophers are supposed to be

As the nine Gophers currently present walked through the woods, it took all of thirty minutes for someone to realize that a certain actor was being quieter than usual,

"Hey, has anyone seen Liam?"

While Heather continued to walk ahead, she was quick to eavesdrop into the conversation that followed Cody's question,

"…No, I haven't!"

Trent and Owen stopped next to Cody, the three dudes seemingly the only ones who were immediately concerned with the wellbeing of their team mate. As the others became aware of his absence, Beth, Lindsay, and Katie exchanged nervous glances,

"Do you think he got eaten by bearth?"

"Oh my gosh, bears ate Lemur?"

"You don't think they'll eat us next, do you?"

Gwen rolled her eyes,

" _Liam_ didn't get eaten by bears, guys. He was in the bathroom when Chris was explaining the challenge."

At this, Heather got involved,

"You knew this and you didn't say anything?"

Gwen crossed her arms,

"Actually, Heather _,_ I _did_ say something, I said 'Hey, let's wait for Liam because he's in the bathroom' but nobody heard me, so we left assuming he was with us."

Leshawna cocked her eyebrow in confusion before Heather could retort,

"How do we not notice a guy who talks more than Chris and that Bass chick combined?"

While most of the others pondered this, Heather was reminded of her threat to Liam.

 **Confessional**

Heather: I know exactly what that megalomaniac is doing. If we lose today, he's going home.

 **End Confessional**

As the Gophers continued to trek on, mostly concerned with surviving the night and hoping Chris wouldn't disqualify them on Liam's behalf, the Bass were getting along a lot better without Courtney around. Of course, if enduring Izzy antics, Bridgette concerns, and Harold-ness were in Duncan's ballpark of comfort.

"We should have made sure that we were all here before we left! She could be lost, all alone in the woods!"

"For the hundredth time, Malibu, cool it! We get it, Courtney's not here, not our fault. We can't go back now because the sun is going down and we haven't even found our shit yet. If Miss C.I.T is so confident in her skills, we shouldn't have to worry about her! Now please shut the hell up so that I have one less mouth to worry about!"

Bridgette closed her mouth and scowled, looking away from the punk. Geoff, who was walking to the direct left of Duncan had turned to face the downtrodden surfer girl with a thoughtful look in his eye.

 **Confessional**

Geoff: I like Duncan, he's my bud and all, but what he said to Bridgette was not cool at all! I mean, pickin' on Harold and messin' with Courtney is one thing, but Bridge is the sweetest, most honest and friendly person on this island! Dude needs to know when too far is too far!

 **End Confessional**

"Dude, maybe you should just chill?"

The punk stopped dead in his tracks and turned to point a finger at the party animal, eyes wide and strained. Duncan was trying to look intimidating, but Geoff could clearly see that he was physically and mentally exhausted, which took the wind out of his confrontational stance a bit,

"Listen, pal, I don't need you chattering away either! I've had to put up with you guys and your constant nagging for the past hour and a half, the last thing I need is for you to come to the aid of your wannabe girlfriend!"

"Hey, that's not cool man!"

"And you, jockstrap, can it before I rearrange your face!"

Duncan waved a fist in front of Tyler's face before turning to face DJ, warning him off before the gentle giant could join in the intervention. The big guy got the idea and backed away a bit.

The mood had drastically become so depleted that not a single Bass dared to speak, lest they face the wrath of Duncan. However, there was one among them that did not give a damn about offending or annoying anyone, someone who, up until this point, had spoken (surprisingly) so little that everyone was convinced she was on the opposing team.

"Hey, does anyone wanna hear my bear impression? Grrrraoraoraoragaaaagaaagagagayyupyupyupkookaa! Oh look, berries!"

Izzy bounded off in front of her and plucked up some black berries from the nearby bush, flicking them into her mouth and squishing them messily with her teeth. Most of the juice seemed to miss her mouth and decided to land on her chest instead.

"Whoops, that looks problematic! Anyone wanna clean this off of me? Tyler? DJ? Ella?"

The Bass looked at one another then Izzy, then each other, then continued to walk in silence, ignoring the crazy, and sexually disturbed redhead.

In the meantime, the two missing campers had already found their campsite, which is to say, they didn't find an actual campsite, but were so lost and tired that they had mutually agreed to stop and rest in a cave for the upcoming night.

"I hope this doesn't disqualify us…"

"Hey, how do ya like this?"

The actor brandished a stick with a sharpened point at the end, holding it up with great pride despite the end being particularly dull. Courtney deadpanned,

"What do you expect to kill with that thing?"

Liam was not phased,

"With this spear, that I have forged with the skill of Hephaestus himself, we shall soon have a bountiful feast of the finest fish Wawanakwa can offer!"

Liam began to exit the cave but was stopped by a mocha hand to his arm,

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here? By myself?"

The actor grabbed the hand of the CIT and kissed it,

"You make a good point wherein it is among man's duties to protect the most sacred of his species, surely I have not forgotten that knightly virtue. However, there is an even older and more necessary job that proceeds that of present concern," he hunched over and imitated a caveman, "man hunt, woman stay."

With that, the actor took his leave.

 **Confessional**

Courtney: That was either the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me or the most sexist thing anyone's ever said to me.

 **End Confessional**

The actor's team was now less concerned on their missing thespian than they were with finding adequate sustenance. Having arrived at their campsite an hour ago, just as it had gotten dark, they had yet to make any progress on food.

"Maybe Lyle already ate all the food."

"Ugh, didn't Owen leave for food, like, an hour ago?"

Just as Heather managed to fire a complaint at Owen, the aforementioned jolly giant appeared with several raw fish in tow,

"I am man! I bring fish!"

Heather, ever the optimist, felt the need to criticize again, as her previous criticism had become invalid,

"Are you kidding me?"

This did little to affect the mood of her team, however, as they all made a beeline for Owen, thanking him and taking the fish to cook it on the campfire.

"How do you know how to fish?"

The question was meant to be taken as jab at how utterly useless Owen had been up to that point, but nevertheless he managed to think Heather was actually interested in his abilities,

"My grandpa taught me! I caught a shark once, it bit me in the butt! Check it out!"

As Owen mooned his teammates, the Killer Bass were still setting up camp. Ezekiel and Izzy had been sent to scavenge for food, DJ and Duncan were lighting up the campfire, Ella was unpacking the bags, leaving Tyler to help Bridgette and Geoff set up the tent. The party animal sensed an opportunity to make a move on the surfer girl by offering what he thought to be a sincere compliment,

"Wow, you pitch a tent like a guy!"

There was a silence between him and an uncomfortable Bridgette.

 **Confessional**

Geoff: 'Wow, you pitch a tent like a guy'? **face palm**

 **End Confessional**

Trying desperately to salvage what momentum he had, Geoff tried to clarify what he meant,

"I mean, you're not all girly about gettin dirty and stuff." He added a small, humble smile for good measure, which prompted nothing but a sarcastic, "Gee, thanks" from the object of his affection. As she went off to help Ella unpack, Tyler came up to pat Geoff on the shoulder,

"Dude, you totally bombed!"

Geoff lowered his head in defeat only to raise it up again when Ezekiel marched in, arms full of fish and berries,

"Dinner is served, eh!"

The Bass began to cheer until Izzy appeared from a bush, somewhat startling them with her bear noises. Ezekiel scowled and scolded the redhead,

"Aw, Iz, I toold you to stop making your bear noises, eh!"

Before Izzy could respond, however, a loud baritone growl was heard in the nearby distance. Ezekiel, quivering, slowly turned around and encountered a large brown bear standing almost directly behind him. The prairie boy shrieked with terror,

"BEAR!"

Throwing the food in the air, Ezekiel ran off with the rest of the frightened Bass, climbing up into a tree overlooking the campsite as the bear began to attempt to follow them, clawing and grabbing at them from the base of the trunk.

After a while, the bear relented and returned to the area where Ezekiel had thrown the food, happily allowing itself to take as much of it as it desired.

"Uhm, I guess we doon't have food, eh?"

"Whoa, that's so cool, it's like an actual bear! Isn't that so cool guys?"

There was a dead silence, and several scowls thrown at Izzy, who proceeded to ignore them,

"So cool!"

 **Confessional**

Liam: So I'm not the most gifted spear fisher in the world, what can I say, my gifts lie elsewhere. However, I did find some wild berries, nuts, and the like, so I figure, why not make the girl a salad?

 **End Confessional**

"I have prepared thee, salad."

"What happened to the 'bountiful feast of the finest fish Wawanakwa has to offer'?"

"They, uh, couldn't make it!"

Courtney gave a small chuckle before starting to eat of the assortment of nature's best before her. It tasted so fresh and ripe she couldn't help but moan in delight.

"These are really good!"

"Only the finest food for the finest female!"

Courtney blushed, although due to the darkness of the cave, Liam didn't notice. Courtney, however, noticed that the actor wasn't eating any of what he himself foraged.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Liam smiled,

"How thoughtful of you, but I already ate and am no longer hungry!"

There was a loud rumbling sound that both Courtney and Liam determined came from a certain actor's belly due to absence of nutrition. A look of worry came upon Courtney's face,

"You should really eat something! Here, have some berries- "

"No, I didn't get enough food for the both of us, you should have it."

"I'm not going to let you starve, I'm not that cruel."

"Really, it's no problem."

"Liam, I swear to God if you don't take some of this food, I'll kill you."

Liam noted the seriousness in her tone and reluctantly took a few berries. The two ate in silence for a few minutes until it was shattered by an abrupt clap of thunder. Courtney jumped with fright ending up in the actor's arms. She had been to frightened to notice that the actor too had jumped in fright, but none of that mattered much to either of them, they now had something else to deal with.

Courtney and Liam looked at each, then quickly backed away, muttering apologies to the other and eventually laughing at how silly their actions had been. Finally, Liam stretched and stifled a yawn,

"Well, we're not going to be getting much of anything done now. Might as well go to sleep."

Courtney nodded in agreement and the two made off to the same spot a little further into the cave, away from the splashing rain. Courtney noticed a problem first,

"Uhm, could you maybe move to the other side of the cave?"

Liam arched an eyebrow, Courtney persisted,

"I just, don't feel comfortable sleeping next to a… boy. Besides, what if Chris counted it as breaking the rules?"

Knowing better than to fight with Courtney's logic, Liam shrugged and headed off to the other side of the cave, which was considerably damper, although Courtney didn't realize that.

"Good night, Courtney."

"Good night, Liam."

It seemed that only the two star-crossed lovers were enjoying a good night sleep, for while the Bass dangled from a tree the Gophers had their own troubles.

"How do you set fire to ALL of our stuff right BEFORE it starts to rain, Owen? Did your stupid grandpa teach you that too?"

Owen twiddled his fingers together nervously and apologetically uttered,

"Um, no, it just, he, I uh- Hey, leave my grandpa out of this, he was a better man than you'll ever be!"

Gwen rolled her eyes,

"You tell her, Owen."

Trent, ever the peacemaker, was quick to defend his chubby friend,

"Hey, it was an accident, how was he supposed to know it was gonna rain? Or that our stuff was gonna catch fire by twirling fire batons like Beth even though he has way less experience and skill in it than she does? I mean, come on, it's not his fault."

Trent paused,

"Ok, well, maybe it is his fault a little bit, but we're all in this together, we gotta-"

"I don't need any lessons from you, high school musical! If we lose, I'm sending Owen's ass home!"

Leshawna raised an eyebrow at this,

"On who's grounds?"

"Mine and my alliance, duh!"

"Oh really, well keep acting up like this, you might not have an alliance by the end of it! You really think Liam is gonna pick your scrawny, bossy ass over Owen? He's crazy, but he ain't stupid!"

"He will if he knows what's good for him! If you all know what's good for you!"

With Heather's vain threat came a clap of thunder that promptly scared the Gophers into silence.

The stormy night treated the campers differently, some of them slept wet and cold, some slept wet and cold in a tree, and, really, only Liam and Courtney got a good night's sleep. But regardless, life goes on, and the sun rises, and the storms subside, and nature takes it's course.

The cave-dwellers awoke at what appeared to be mid-morning. They yawned and stretched and did the other things one does when trying to get out of bed, even if there isn't a bed in the first place.

"That was actually quite comfortable"

"Y-yeah, not gonna lie, these rocks are more comfortable than the beds!"

Courtney gave Liam a smile to acknowledge his joke before placing her hands to her mouth and gasping,

"Oh my god, you're shivering!"

"Y-yeah, it's kinda cold!"

"I'm not cold!"

"Oh, then I guess I'm confusing that with heat then."

The actor's joke wasn't quite as funny as it would have been had Courtney not grown concerned with his health. Rushing over to him, she bent over and discovered that a puddle had pooled around him while he was sleeping.

"you're gonna catch a cold!"

Liam scratched his head,

"Huh, I guess I was feeling cold. Next challenge better be something hot, like building a hot tub, or- "

"THE CHALLENGE!"

Courtney grabbed Liam's hand pulling him up and out of the cave. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, hoping beyond belief that they would make it before their teams.

"Chris! We're here! Did we win?"

Chris smiled his classic smile and begun a playful banter,

"That depends, are you guys competing together as a duo?"

"What? No! That's not… that's not a thing is it?"

Chris shrugged, "Not yet."

Liam nudged Courtney, "You want to just compete? The two of us together against everyone else? That'd be cute!"

"Shut up! So, Liam and I are here first then, right?"

Chris stroked his chin, "Well, one of you is here first!"

"Liam! Where the Hell were you?"

The actor winced as Heather stormed over to glare at him. Seeing him with Courtney made her even more violently rage-filled,

"I thought I told you not to talk to her?"

"Heather, this is all just a big- "

"Shut up, drama nerd, you had one last shot and you blew it! Consider yourself out of my alliance!"

Liam guffawed, " _Your_ alliance? You think _I_ was in _your_ alliance? Are you crazy?"

Before Heather and Liam could finish their spat, Courtney piped up,

"Wait, does that mean that my team- "

"Wait, we lost?!"

Everyone turned to face the arriving Killer Bass, trudging in, clothes dripping and gazes downcast. There were mixed reactions when they saw their missing teammate.

"Courtney! Thank god you're okay!"

Bridgette ran up to bring her friend into a tight embrace, one that Courtney happily returned.

"Well, gee, I found the princess, guys!"

"Shut up, eh!"

Tired eyes shifted from Duncan to Ezekiel, who was shaking with apparent rage at the delinquent, who, among every onlooker, was taken aback at the homeschooled kid's outburst.

"Whoa, Zeke, chill dude. I was just- "

"No, eh, you chill! All you've done this entire time on the island is yell and complain and be mean to everyone for no reason! We're supposed to be a team, we're supposed to fight the Gophers, but we're too busy fighting each other!"

Before Duncan could respond, Chris interceded,

"Wow, that's a lot to unload right after a challenge, ain't it? Wonder how this will play out for tonight's elimination ceremony! I'll see you guys there!"

 **Confessionals**

Liam: I on Heather's alliance? Is that what she thought? Well then, maybe I should be more clear that I'm the one running this game, not her!

Duncan: Prairie boy is lucky he's useful, otherwise I'd a) beat the snot out of him and b) kick his homeschool ass off this miserable island!

Heather: I fear that my grip is slipping on my team. I need to regain Liam's trust, or make sure that if we lose someone else is to blame. Whichever one is easier at this point will have to do.

Geoff: I'd be inclined to vote off Duncan, especially after what Zeke said, he's bein a real jerk lately. But hey, at least Duncan didn't make me sleep in a tree all night!

Courtney: I think my team hates me. I think my team might actually hate me!

 **End Confessionals**

Campfire Pit- Killer Bass

"Killer Bass, tonight you all succeeded in proving once and for all that teenagers and the great outdoors are a very bad combo! You lost a member of your team, lost all your food to a hungry grizzly, and lost your marginal lead, one you might not get back. Let's face it, you guys suck."

Several Bass scowled, most sighed and hung their heads.

"Now, you get the opportunity to send another one of your sucky teammates home. You know the drill by now: when I call your name, you will receive this marshmallow as a token of your team's gratitude for not sucking that much! We start today with Ella,"

The artist walked up without much ceremony, nor much surprise, there were bigger targets that day.

"DJ,"

The gentle giant gently grabbed his symbol of safety and stood next to his shy teammate.

"Harold,"

For once, the alpha geek didn't have to worry about being the subject of cruel Bass attention.

"Tyler,"

The talentless jock refused to celebrate a cheaply won victory, he knew who was going home.

"Bridgette,"

The surfer looked worried, not for herself, but for the teammates left, knowing that she had to say goodbye yet again.

"Geoff,"

The party animal, for once, didn't smile, he wasn't in a party mood, the place was too dismal for his liking.

"Ezekiel,"

Homeschool sighed with relief, he'd worried that his outburst had been enough to condemn him. Now he had to face his actions.

"Campers, I'm left to say that all ten votes tonight were cast for the three of you who remain. Let's look at why that might be. Courtney, not only were you separated from the team, but you spent the entire challenge with a member of the opposing team, a member you've been seen near before. Izzy, you cost your team their food, their sleep, and quite possibly the challenge. While you may not have a hand in any of the drama here, you've definitely been a great hindrance to your team! And Duncan, Mr. tough guy, getting homeschooled today by arguably the weakest teenager on this island. That's sad, maybe be nicer? Tonight, the camper going home is…

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Izzy."

Duncan and Courtney looked at each other, then got their marshmallows and joined the rest of the team, leaving the crazy redhead alone amidst the stump seats. However, she didn't seem phased, as though she hadn't eve realized the implications of the whole ceremony.

"Oh well, we all gotta go sometime, huh?"

Without any speech or fuss, Izzy left the island in much the same manner that she'd stayed, without any real sense of importance or need to be there. Needless to say, everyone was quite confused at this.

Chris turned to face the camera,

"Well, that was anti-climatic! But it seems tensions are rising enough already! Will the Bass crumble even further with this rift in the Bass Bros? Or will Gopher infighting be enough to save them from an even wider margin? Find out next time on the most thrilling episode yet of Total Drama Island!"

 **A.N:** Hey guys, it's been far too long! I'm sorry for my extended absence, school started up and, well, I haven't have much breathing time since! That muhc is probably obvious as it took it's toll on this chapter, and I'm sorry about that.

You might've noticed a few things about this that will probably make this among the weakest chapters of this story, it's by far the shortest of all of them, and there are several reasons for that. I've fallen into a habbit of preference for this story, since the first few chapters were all written in such close proximity to each other, they flowed a lot better coherently speaking, and Iwas more inspired with less interruption when writing them. That's not an excuse as to why this chapter is bad, but that doesn't change the fact that that's why. I don't like taking too long with these chapters, so I was driven with a desire to just finish it rather than trying to make it better than it's predecessor. That fact combined with my general dislike of some of the earlier episodes of the season, this one in particualr rubbing me a wrong way just did't add any excitement for me. Right now, it's a matter of setting up everything so the rest of the story can be kickass!

Also, a personal apology to Izzy fans, not just for the story thus far, but maybe in the future? I don't know, I guess I'm just not as interested in using her as a lot of authors are, which is weird, cuz I like her just fine. I just don't like writing for her in general, I think she's very hard to get right, or at least in a way that pleases her hardcore fans. She has a specific fanbase that seems to stem from what a lot of very creative and passionate writers have done with her before. Unfortunately for Izzy fans, she doesn't spark that much with me. I can promise that she will still be used, but unlike with Eva, I don't forsee her use expanding further than what she already has. A shame, but in a series like this, you have to really be picky with who you use and who you don't. It's a necessary loss, and I am truly sorry for having chosen her for that unenviable burden. But hey, that might change if I feel like it! Just don't get too hopeful!

Anyway, that's it for now. Again, I'm really sorry for the quality of this chapter. I just wanted to get it over with, it's definately been the longest to write, but only because half of it was done in August! I'm going to try and make sure I can really sit down and work on the next chapters in a relatively short burst like before, so it might be a while before that happens, because again, I'm super busy. Or it might not, I'll letcha know! Until next time y'all!

-That1guyeveryonehates


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